Dark Promises
by krystalMage
Summary: New Chapter UP!While healing a wounded stranger, Kaoru unknowingly calls upon her essence to seal the injury, creating a spirit bond. But the amber-eyed demon lord she has just revived is in no mood to be saddled with a mortal female. Battousai/Kaoru."Did you come back to rub my folly in my face?"
1. Prologue

**Summary**: While healing a wounded stranger, Kaoru unknowingly calls upon her essence to seal the injury, creating a spirit bond. But the amber-eyed demon lord she has just revived is in no mood to be saddled with a mortal female. KK. Dark-ish fic.

**Disclaimer**: Rurouni Kenshin and all its characters, events and places belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro.

**Rating**: T. To be safe, certain chapters will be marked as MATURE.

Alright, I know I'm due for an update on Dance of the Firefly and Game of Chess and the rest of my fics but the seeds of this story crept into me head this morning and it will simply not leave me alone. I have always wanted to write a Supernatural genre fic for Rurouni Kenshin because I LOVE Ravyn's work and am so impressed with her. So this is sort of a tribute to Ravyn. Thank you for all those wonderful stories.

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><p><strong>Dark Promises<strong>

**Prologue**

The wizened, old night watchman of the docks peered out toward open sea with sickly pink eyes. He waited. The last of the fishing boats had not yet returned home. The tide was high and the moon full. He sighed. It was not a night to be caught out on sea. He muttered an odd spell of protection and made a motion in front of his eyes with his right hand. It was an ancient gesture, handed down through the generations by parents, grandparents and other relations – a charm for the protection of a loved one – first two fingers held up straight, ring and pinky fingers bent and held together with the thumb. This hand posture could be held up and turned in a circle around the face to ward off evil. Cast furtively, it was laughed at by the mageborn who ruled and protected the city of Herath.

The mages were powerful sorcerers who had made Herath their home a thousand years ago. They gave protection to the city and its people and controlled the teaching of the craft jealously. One was born a mage; it wasn't something you could learn. Once a child showed signs of the power, he or she was taken by the Masters at the Academy to study. But once the child graduated from the Academy, it was their individual decision, whether to return to civilian life in the city or continue to reside at the Academy and use their power to protect the city.

The watchman suddenly perked up. Something was moving on the waves. His eyes bled water. He held a dirty handkerchief up to his eyes and wiped the water away. There it was! The final fishing boat, it was coming in now. He leaned heavily on his stick and stood. Reaching up beside his chair, he pulled upon a wide bell of brass. The clanging of the bell brought several men out to the docks and the pier was suddenly overrun with activity. The boat was pulled into dock. A plank landed on the pier with a loud thud and the fishermen came rushing out to the pier, as though the devil himself was on their tail. They looked fearfully at the boat.

Nobody spoke for a long time. The men standing on the pier looked at the fishermen inquisitively. They hadn't even bothered to drop anchor. The men who were holding the boat steady with rope glared sullenly at the fishermen.

One of them shouted angrily, "Why didn't you let the anchor go, you fools! How are we to hold on to this girl?"

The men who had just scampered off the boat shivered. "Let her go." The owner of the boat whispered in a shaky voice. "Let her go, let her drift…let her go where she pleases. I care not."

The swarthy man spoke again, "What the devil do you mean?" He turned his head, shouting to his men to hold fast.

The fisherman held his head in his hands and squatted on the ground, as though he would fall if he kept standing. "He will not let us fish anymore. He told us."

"Who?"

The fisherman looked up. The men on the pier felt a chill run down their spine as they glanced into the horror living in his eyes. "The demon. He has claimed the sea once again."

oOoOoOo

Soujirou heard the faint echoes of a bell ringing as he stood upon the rocky beach, several leagues south of the mortal city, Herath. He looked out to sea. Black clouds seemed to float upon the surface of the water. Further ahead, jagged cliffs of marble rose majestically out of the black water. He bit his lip. His master was supposed to be here by now. He pulled an ancient watch out of the side pocket of his silk waistcoat. He stared at the five hands rotating on different rhythms upon a pearly white dial. He frowned at the time and slipped the watch back into his pocket. Perhaps his message had been unclear; perhaps Sensei had not realized the gravity of the message. Or perhaps he just wasn't bothered. Sensei could be such a pain in the….

A whirlwind of dust appeared out of nowhere, shaping into a miniature tornado, concentrating upon a spot mere inches away from Soujirou. Soujirou yelped. He held his hands up, failing hopelessly at shielding his eyes. His attempt to raise a barrier was shot down as the powerful spirit-force of his Master blasted his shield away and singed him.

He fell back upon the sand; the wind ravaged his hair and as a final insult, bodily threw him back a few paces. The gyring tornado seemed to calm and the faint outline of a man became visible. He was slender, dressed in traditional clothes and had two swords strapped to his hips. His blood-coloured hair was contained at the top of his head with a leather hair tie. His features were beautiful, a cross-shaped scar was gouged into the skin of his left cheek yet it only served to deepen the aura of danger and mystery around him. He stepped beside Soujirou and nonchalantly shook the remaining dust on his person onto his hapless student.

Arching an eyebrow at the sulky expression on his pupil's face, he spoke, "What were you just thinking Soujirou?"

Soujirou's eyes grew wide as he replayed his last words in his mind. He grinned uncertainly and held his hands up. The older man snorted and pulled him up to his feet.

"Just because you are on a separate plane of existence, doesn't mean I can't get inside your head."

Soujirou nodded. "A thousand pardons Sensei. I was a little hasty."

"Typical." He turned towards the pebble-ridden beach, silently surveying the woods behind the causeway, the dark cliffs up ahead, the black sea. "Fine place you choose to call me. Where are we?"

Soujirou pointed south, towards a group of glittering dots. "That is Herath, a city of mortals. That's where I first felt Shishio's presence. At first, it was only a minor presence, about as powerful as a common mortal soul but in the past few months, that presence has been growing. I can feel it growing stronger."

"That stench I felt as soon as I entered this plane."

"Yes Sensei. It's growing stronger everyday."

The demon lord took a deep breath. "What is he up to this time?"

Soujirou couldn't stop the shudder that ran through his body. "That's why I called you Sensei. He's devouring human souls – specifically mage souls."

**Author's Note**

Well, what do you think? This is just the prologue and you will have the first chapter in a few days. (Gosh *gasp* a few days?) Yesss my lovelies, a few days. And to all those adorable people who send me panicked emails asking if I've abandoned DoF or GoC, have a care. I haven't abandoned anything. Relax. I will finish those fics. Just give me time.

And review for this one!


	2. Graduation Day

**Summary**: While healing a wounded stranger, Kaoru unknowingly calls upon her essence to seal the injury, creating a spirit bond. But the amber-eyed demon lord she has just revived is in no mood to be saddled with a mortal female. Battousai/Kaoru. Dark-ish fic.

**Disclaimer**: Rurouni Kenshin and all its characters, events and places belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro.

**Rating**: T. To be safe, certain chapters will be marked as MATURE.

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><p><strong>Dark Promises<strong>

**Chapter One: Graduation Day**

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><p>The sun disappeared behind the tall larch trees, sinking into the treetops like a mole burrowing in the ground. Long shadows from the gas-lit lamps hung from the building terrace gave light to the game unfolding in the courtyard. Eight players bent low, near the ground, muscles coiled tightly in anticipation of the release of the ball. And then, play would begin. Swift bodies raced past each other, sometimes diving between two players to steal the soft sphere of cork and rubber.<p>

The ball sailed back and forth between the two teams. Both so close to victory and equally close to defeat. Misao breathed deeply. Two more points to go, just two more points to winning the last game before graduation and real life set in. As she caught the ball, she saw her teammate collapse from the corner of her eyes.

Misao scored and ran back. "Mia, what happened?"

The girl groaned. "I think I sprained my ankle."

Someone called from the other team. "It's cool if you want to quit now. Save yourselves the humiliation."

"Oh shut up." Misao retorted. Mia limped towards the steps and sat down. Misao followed her. "Are you going to be okay, Mia?"

"I'll be fine." She grimaced.

Misao glanced at the girl sitting beside her injured teammate. "Lend us a hand?"

Kaoru flicked her eyes towards the court where the boys had already begun back-slapping themselves. "You know I don't play Misao. It always ends the same way. And I'm sort of sick of the whining."

"Screw the whining. Who cares? Come on, Kaoru. It's our last game before we graduate. We're never going to get this game back. I mean, who's going to see this lot afterwards?" She waved towards the boys on the court. She grinned winningly.

Kaoru couldn't stop a smile from stealing across her lips. "Fine. Just one game." Misao hugged her and ran back. Kaoru shrugged her jacket off and removed her waistcoat. She smirked as the jeers of the boys reached her ears. She was conscious of the way her hips rolled as she folded her sleeves and walked towards the court. Loud groans were followed by some serious swearing as the boys on court saw her approach.

"Oi Makimachi. Not fair."

Misao laughed. "I didn't expect you guys to start whining almost immediately."

"If you get Kamiya, then we get an extra player."

The good-natured bickering amongst classmates continued till a bloodcurdling scream shook the ground they were standing upon. Everyone froze.

"What was that?"

"It came from the south gate."

"Shouldn't we go check it out or something?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should call a faculty member."

"Hey! Kamiya, where do you think you're going?" Someone yelled as Kaoru ran towards the source of the noise.

She knew they were calling her back, telling her to stop, to wait, do anything but run towards the screams that seemed to grow louder and louder with every step she took. She stumbled and fell. Those screams meant someone was hurt, someone was scared, needed help, needed a way out. Pushing herself off the ground, she began to walk once again but everything was quiet. There were no more screams, no sound of a human voice. She turned. The deathly silence of the Academy campus swallowed even the voice of the wind and the waves crashing the cliffs below.

Where are you?

Why did you scream like that? Where are you…wait a minute… perhaps this was the right time to question…what are you? Are you human, lost in the dark? Or did you drift into a mortal realm by accident?

Soft as a whisper, the whimpering sound of someone trying to bury their sobs down their throat. Kaoru blinked and looked around. She walked towards the sound, taking little steps. "Hello? Is anybody there?" She didn't notice the small hand catching hold of her pants until the fabric tugged. She stopped.

A girl sat shivering at the foot of a tree. She trembled and cast her eyes this way and that. Kaoru sat down next to her. The girl grabbed her elbow, digging her nails into her skin. Kaoru winced but didn't shake her grip off. This girl needed the security of knowing she wasn't alone.

"They're coming ….they're coming….I saw them….I saw them…I…they're coming." She rocked back and forth, chanting the words repeatedly. Kaoru put an arm around her shoulder.

"Alright, alright. Let's get you inside."

"No…no…they're coming…it doesn't matter where you are." The girl shook her head violently and began to pull at Kaoru's shirt in her desperation. Kaoru tried to calm her down but she was having none of it. She shook her head, pulled at Kaoru, banged her fists in her arms and simply wouldn't let Kaoru move her. Kaoru grit her teeth and firmly caught hold of the girl. She pulled her to her teeth and began to march back the way she had come.

"You don't understand…they'll eat us all. I saw it. I SAW it! He ate him up…ate him."

Kaoru stared at her. "You're not making any sense. What are you talking about?"

"We'll take it from here Kamiya. Good work." A smooth voice cut in. Kaoru looked up and felt her shoulders straighten and her back resemble a poker instinctively. Master Saitoh had that effect on everyone. He presence was a little like a call to arms. She was just mildly conscious of the girl being ushered into a carriage at the bottom of a flight of steps. She turned to try and speak to her again when she was addressed by Master Saitoh again.

"Master?"

"Makimachi came to my chambers screaming her lungs off."

"Huh?"

"You had better go see if she's okay. Or she's going to give your entire class ear damage. We'll take it from here."

"Oh. Um. Okay." Kaoru quietly stuffed her hands in her pockets and began to walk back towards the building. She turned back towards the girl. She was still hysterical. Kaoru shook her head. Whatever it was had scared her pretty bad. She frowned. The girl had mentioned something about somebody eating someone else. What could that have been about? Maybe she saw a wild animal. But why would a wild animal come so deep into the city to find prey. There was enough prey in the forest beyond Herath. What was going on? She turned around.

Master Saitoh was joined by four other teachers. They watched as the carriage rolled away. Kaoru bit her lip. Something wasn't right. She slipped behind a pillar and crouched low, so they wouldn't be able to see her. Getting on her hands and knees, she kept low and began to crawl back. Camouflaged by the hedges and helped by the silence of the night, she went as far as she dared, where she could hear them clearly.

Master Nadir was saying something. "….we told the Council that we'd take care of this."

"This brings the count to five. What are we going to do?"

"Gentlemen _please_." Master Saitoh's voice rasped impatiently. "We are not going to be threatened or frightened by a soul-stealer. We'll deal with this. But for now, we need to keep things quiet. If word gets out that we have a soul-stealing demon on our hands….all hell will break loose."

oOoOoOo

It was past nine in the morning and the morning fruit seller was just finishing his rounds when several shrieks echoed through the sunshine laden street. The fruit seller calmly pulled out a battered old watch from his pocket, consulted the time and shrugged.

"You'd expect her to be on time for once in her life. Kids today…" He shook his head disapprovingly and ignored the crashing sounds emerging from the cottage at the end of the street. But as he pushed his cart closer to it, he couldn't resist stopping to take a look.

The door, as expected, was open. A young girl was racing down the stairs that could be seen from the street. The Black cloak of mastery was flung unceremoniously over her elbow and she brushed her blue black hair hurriedly. Suddenly she remembered something and turned. Her eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. In response to her summons, an oval mirror flew down the stairs and hovered in the air in front of her face while she turned her face this way and that. With a flick of her fingers, she sent the mirror flying back upstairs where it settled against a wall comfortably. She raced out, the door slammed shut behind her. She hopped on one foot while tying her shoe laces. Tearing down the short path to the main street, she pulled her bicycle from a shed, grabbed an apple from his cart and sped away.

"You're going to catch it from your master today. What sort of idiot gets late on their graduation day?" The fruit seller hollered behind her. The girl zigzagged crazily on the cobble street, waving her hand good-naturedly at the morning walkers her bicycle threatened to paralyze.

If she was worried about being late, she hid it well. She sailed through the Academy gates at the last chime of the bell. Jumping off, she didn't bother to lock and park her bicycle. Nobody was stupid enough to mess with her. Her temper was legendary and security enough for any of her belongings. She just dropped it by the sidewalk and ran towards the large, red brick building, pulling the Black over her arms carefully.

Inside, she quietly shuffled along the rows of wooden chairs, trying to find her spot. It was dark. All lights were focused upon the dais where her Master stood, reading out the names of the students who had passed, earning the Red of Apprenticeship to a True Mage. Only a few ever managed to earn the Black of Mastery while still studying at the Academy. She was one of them.

"Kaoru!" A small girl seated two rows ahead waved enthusiastically. She was wearing the Red and had a wide smile on her face. "Over here." She whispered loudly.

Two girls turned from their seats and glared at her. "Shhhhhhhhhhhh."

Kaoru rolled her eyes as many of her classmates first glared, and then looked nervous as they saw it was _her_ who had disturbed the solemn air of the convocation. Nonetheless, Kaoru gave them a sheepish smile and hurriedly wiggled past crossed legs to land in the chair next to the perky girl. She noticed that nobody even mentioned the events of last night even in passing. It was as though they'd already forgotten about the screams and the girl.

"Thanks Misao. This place is packed." Kaoru fixed the buttons on her waistcoat, in her hurry she'd managed to scramble them up. She ignored the two boys who stood and left their seats as soon as she sat down beside them. She was used to being treated like a deranged asylum patient. This was the way it had been since forever. Her power repelled people, it unsettled them. They knew something was different about her as soon as they met her. But they didn't wait to find out what. In a city filled with mages, nobody saw the need to socialize with someone who had such volatile spirit force.

Misao was the only one who didn't care how her power seemed to seep out of her skin like water. The faint sparks of electricity that seemed to bleed into the air around Kaoru made no difference to her.

"Of course it is. I _told_ you to be on time. Didn't I tell you to be on time?" Misao whispered back.

Kaoru sighed. "You told me. I'm sorry. I slept really late and…. Misao?" Misao was craning her neck to see the dais. She was a short girl and her lack of height rankled at her mind each time they had to attend an event like this because inevitably she would be seated at the back of the room, where seeing anything happening was a hassle. She was crouched on her seat now, ready to stand up as and when required.

Kaoru watched as Misao hopped about on her seat, trying to catch a glance of the proceedings without actually standing. She propped her chin in her hand, not particularly bothered with watching the ceremony. What was there to see anyway? Nobody was leaving without getting their graduation honors.

After five minutes of watching Misao move this way and that, Kaoru rolled her eyes and nudged Misao with her elbow.

"Ow! Kaoru…what is wrong with you?"

"With me? What's wrong with you? Can you stop acting like a jack-in-the-box?"

"I want to see what's going on!"

"Misao…Master Saitoh is on his usual surly best behavior. He mumbles 'Well done, now get out of here' and hands you a scroll….what's so great about that?" Kaoru threw her hands in the air, earning another round of 'shhhhh' from the people in front of her.

Misao pursed her lips. "Well it's important to me. I had to work very hard for the Red. I suppose it doesn't mean so much to you…it's not as good as the Black, I know…but it means the world to me and I don't want to miss anything today." She turned towards the dais again. Kaoru felt ashamed instantly.

She quietly took her friend's hand. "Misao…I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry. And the Red does mean a lot….I just ….never mind." She sighed and let it go. She couldn't blame Misao for getting annoyed with her but she couldn't help it. She had never understood the need for half the pomp and show that went on in the Academy in the name of institutional tradition. She wanted to learn and work her way up the Mastery levels but sometimes it seemed as though learning wasn't happening fast enough for her; it felt as though the Masters were deliberating slowing her down. She rolled her eyes as she thought about it. Paranoia. But then….nobody apart from Master Saitoh knew that the Academy had delayed awarding her every cloak of Mastery by years. She had earned a Black two years ago. She had spent two whole years re-learning things she already knew because Master Saitoh refused to continue her training, saying she was too young. What good was the Black to her when she wasn't allowed to use it?

"Makimachi Misao." Master Saitoh's sonorous voice boomed in the hall. Misao jumped up. Kaoru glanced at her friend. It wasn't the time to mope about things she had no control over. So she stood with her and hugged her excitedly. "Congratulations Misao!"

Misao grinned and quickly made her way to the dais. She radiated happiness as she accepted her scroll and silver talisman from Master Saitoh. Kaoru smiled and clapped longest and loudest for her friend. Misao was fortunate. She received her due and was awarded in recognition of her abilities.

"Kamiya Kaoru." Kaoru stood and ran her hands down her clothes, smoothing out a fine crease on her silk waistcoat. She was conscious of the way people turned in their seats and craned their necks to look at her. She ascended the steps to the dais with measured, slow steps. A hush descended upon the hall. Kaoru was the Black to be awarded this year, one of the youngest ever. She folded her hands together and bent at the waist, acknowledging Master Saitoh as her teacher. He stepped forward and hung a silver chain with a talisman around her neck and handed her a thick, bound scroll. Kaoru looked down at the thick roll of parchment.

"Happy?" Saitoh curled his lip. Kamiya was by far his most troublesome student. Kaoru looked back at him. "You have the Black now. I don't want to hear you whining about any lack of motivation anymore."

oOoOoOo

Misao shrugged. "Why are you so surprised? Master Saitoh is always snarky. Why should today be any different?" She watched her reflection in the tall mirror of the library with pride, turning this way and that.

Kaoru sat on the ledge of a window, kicking the heels of her foot into the wall. The honour scroll was folded and stuffed into the pocket of her pants. "He sounded as though he was doing me a favour. Pompous ass." She continued to mutter curses under her breath.

Misao sighed. She looked at her friend's reflection in the mirror. Kaoru had a dark expression on her face. The string of expletives tumbling out of her mouth just kept growing longer and longer. It made her uneasy. She turned, "Kaoru, why are you getting so upset over this? It's such a silly thing."

Kaoru clenched her fingers over the marble ledge she sat on, "It's not a silly thing!" She slid off the ledge, and pushed her unruly bangs out of her eyes, "I am sick and tired of him telling me what I can't do. I'm tired of waiting for the rest of the school to catch up. I don't want to wait till I'm middle-aged to study what I can master today!"

"Kaoru…"Misao stared at her in shock.

"Look Misao, I'm sorry if it seems like I'm poking fun at everyone, I don't intend to be insulting or mean. I just…I just want what is due to me. I want to live up to my potential. I don't want to keep feeling like my brain is going rust before they invent something that will make the wheels turn again. I sit in class every single day and hope that today will be different, that….something will happen. But….each day I come back home and…there's nothing, nothing….." She looked down. The hem of the Black curled around her feet, mocking her, daring her to do something to back her heavy words.

Misao blinked. She was a little stunned. She knew Kaoru was smart, probably smarter than all the rest of them combined but she had no idea that she could be feeling so caged and frustrated. It wasn't healthy to feel so bitter and thwarted. Misao watched as Kaoru began to pace about, clenching her fists.

Misao smiled widely, eager to change the subject, "Alright, forget about it." She left the mirror after giving her cloak a final twirl. She pulled Kaoru towards the exit. "Listen, we get our new assignments today. You are a Black which means you'll get assigned to the Special Task Teams. The roster should be up by now, let's go check it out."

"I don't know Misao…" The prospect of going home and sulking seemed really bright to her right now.

"Oh come on, Kaoru! You have to go see where you're assigned anyway, come on!" She pulled at Kaoru's arm. Misao's enthusiasm was infectious. Kaoru found herself getting excited despite her bad mood. And she was right; things could only get better from here on. She finally had the Black. It didn't matter where she went in the empire, she would be recognised as a True Mage.

The girls raced down the steps of the library out to the courtyard of the Academy. A curving wall doubled as a notice board. There was a small crowd of students at the wall already. Misao and Kaoru pushed and shoved their way through, and owing to a few well placed kicks and opportunely-timed nudges, they soon found themselves at the head of the crowd. The roster was up. Misao jumped at it, quickly scanning the tiny handwriting for her name.

"Ooh…..nice. They've put me in with Okina."

Kaoru looked at Misao as though she'd gone mad. "What's so nice about it? He's an old pervert."

Misao shrugged. "Yeah but he's funny. Wait, I'll check for you."

Kaoru glanced at the list. "It's okay, I'm looking already." She put her finger down on the paper and ran down the list of names. The tip of her finger reached the end of the list, but her name still hadn't surfaced. She blinked. Where her name….why was wasn't it on the list? She looked up the list again. She shook her head and started again. Carefully reading each name, she reached the bottom of the page once more. Her name wasn't there. She hadn't been assigned to any team. She had nothing…even with the Black…she was still….nothing. Her lip trembled. Her eyes began to crinkle as pain of being left behind once more, flooded her heart.

Misao nudged her as the shoving from the crowd got more pronounced. "Kaoru…which team are you assigned to?"

Kaoru turned around and pushed her way out. Misao quickly followed her out. "Kaoru, where are you going? Hey! Who'd you get?"

Kaoru shook her head and shoved her hands into her pockets. "I'm not on that list." She just wanted to disappear off the face of this earth. She hadn't been given an assignment. She was nowhere on that list. She was the most powerful and brightest mage to come out of the Academy this year but the Council had found no use for her.

Misao grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "What do you mean you're not on it? You just didn't look properly. I'm gonna go check, okay?" Kaoru tried to stop her but Misao dived into the crowd once more. She looked frantically at the list, reading each name carefully, but Kaoru's name was nowhere to be found. Misao shook her head in shock. She quietly walked back to Kaoru.

Misao stretched her hands out helplessly. "Kaoru….I don't know what to say…I don't understand at all. Why would they do something like this?"

Kaoru flicked a tear off her eyelashes. "I don't know." She sniffed. "But I know who to ask!" She turned on her heel and marched straight through the northern gate of the courtyard to where the Masters' rooms were situated. As she walked, her temper flared and all the indignation she'd somehow suppressed or locked away in the past two years came crashing back to her mind. She simply couldn't understand the inane reasons that the Masters would give her for keeping a limit on her training. They were mages, for crying out loud! Mages do not have boundaries put on them…well not boundaries such as this!

She stopped in front of a polished ebony door leading into Master Saitoh's chambers. She turned to find Misao standing beside her, a grim expression on her face. Kaoru put a hand on her shoulder. "I should do this myself Misao."

Misao jutted her lip out and reluctantly nodded her head. "Fine. I'll wait out here." She sat cross-legged on the floor, with her hands on her knees. Kaoru nodded and rapped sharply on the door. There was no answer. She knocked once more. This time, the door was pulled open and the angled face of the most dreaded teacher in the Academy appeared. Master Saitoh took one look at the girl standing at his door and smirked knowingly. He moved away from the door.

"I did not expect you back so soon, Kamiya. What is it now? Has the water fountain developed an attitude problem?" He sneered, settling into a huge red velvet armchair.

Kaoru frowned. "You know why I'm here Master."

Saitoh nonchalantly picked up a vial from his desk. He glanced at the contents and tossed it into a bin near the chair carelessly. "I assure you, I do not have the slightest clue."

"My name is not on the list. I haven't been assigned any duties. I want to know why."

"Why?"

"Master!" She strode forward to grip the edges of the table, glaring at him. "I am the best student this school has had in years! I am the single most powerful mage you have but I have been assigned nothing! Why? Why does the Academy keep overlooking me?"

"Modesty is not a virtue you possess Kamiya."

"That's bullshit and you know it."

Saitoh glanced at her. His eyes narrowed. "Careful, Kamiya. Your frustration is beginning to border on insubordination."

"Well, I wouldn't be frustrated if you would give me my due for once. Defence needs me. I can be perilous to anything threatening Herath, then why have I been left out like this Master, what have I done wrong?"

Saitoh leaned forward and dropped a piece of paper in front of her. "Do you see that? It's a copy of the notice put up this evening. Read the last line….in the small print." Kaoru picked up the paper and scanned the last line.

_Kamiya Kaoru has been assigned to assist Master Saitoh._

Kaoru re-read the line. She looked up at her teacher. His expression was neutral and distinctly unreadable. She realized that he was waiting for her reaction. She quietly put the paper down.

"What does assisting you entail?" She asked warily. A small smirk lurked about his face. She knew better than to take anything he said at face value. Master Saitoh was very capable of handing her a cursed grimoire, telling her to break the curse and open the book. She would, of course, attack the task with a vengeance only to discover that the book was nothing but the diary of a schizophrenic mage three hundred years old. Why was it cursed? Just because the person who wrote it _could_.

Master Saitoh leaned back in his chair. "So suspicious." He chuckled. "Oh, many things. There are various duties at the Academy itself in addition to exorcisms, breaking curses, defending the city, dealing with the odd demon that drifts into this realm. Things like that."

Well that didn't sound so bad. Only…things were never so straightforward and simple with Master Saitoh. She knew that. He knew that. It was time to find out the catch.

"Of course, you will be working under my guardianship which means, you will have to do as you are told, Kamiya. No insubordination."

Kaoru pushed back the angry retort that rose like bile in her throat. "Your guardianship?"

"Yes."

Kaoru closed her eyes and looked away. This time, she didn't stem the flow of her anger, "What the hell have I been doing for the past two years? You refused to give me the Black even though I had earned it! You refused to let me leave Herath to go elsewhere to study and now, when I can finally do something with my gift, you want me to work under guardianship?" She threw her hands up in frustration. "I just don't believe this!"

"If you want to act like a dock hand, there's the door."

Kaoru shook her head. "Master, weren't you the one who said that mages have to use their power to help others? What use is any of our magic if we don't do anything with it?"

"You'd be helping to defend the walls, what more do you want?"

"Oh forget the walls, Master!" She crossed the table and came to stand in front of him. "There's something out there, something vile and vicious that wants to destroy everything we have built here, in this city. You know this. You saw what happened to that girl last night. She saw something. Whatever did that ….to her. That's what we have to fight!"

"And defending the walls is the first step to fighting it."

"Master, the walls won't help against magic. Necromancy has to be sought out and stopped. My gift can help."

"Or land us in trouble." He replied wryly. "Your control over your gift is shaky at best. It's like watching you fight an internal battle each time you tap into that power. You don't even know what it is yet."

"I'm working on it!"

"Yes, exactly. And until you learn how to control your gift, you will stay at the academy and assist me, do you understand?"

"But Master…"

"Can you call upon your gift as and when you require?"

"Yes!"

"Can you stop your spirit force from seeping out when you need to conceal your presence and power?"

"I…."

"Can you assure me that you will not go off the deep end if you stay in that heightened state of power for longer than two minutes?"

"…"

"Can you control your spirit force completely?"

"Master…I'm the best form of attack you have."

"And what happens when you need to defend yourself?"

"…."

"Can you snap the connection in time? Can you pull your mind away from the chasm where you draw your power? You can't! So how can you ask me to put you in Defence when you have such glaring gaps in your technique?" Saitoh stood. "Defence has a rule. Two-person teams and utmost secrecy about missions. This means that both persons in a team should have iron-clad faith in their partners and themselves. There can't be any half-assed attempts, because that will be the difference between life and death."

Kaoru bent her head and stared at the ground. She walked back and quietly pulled a chair up to the table. Saitoh watched her from the corner of his eye. She slumped in the chair. Eyes cast down, shoulders slumped, and hands folded in her lap. She suddenly had nothing more to say.

Saitoh put some papers away and looked at her. "It makes no sense to send you into battle, knowing that you will obliterate the enemy but also your mind in the process. Until you find a way to control your power, channel it, you can't even imagine joining Defence."

Kaoru slowly lifted her eyes up. "And who is going to teach me to do that?" Saitoh was silent. He had no answer to this question. He turned to her. The customary smirk was missing from his face and he looked genuinely sympathetic, "I'm still searching for someone."

oOoOoOo

Two figures stood silently before the gates of Herath. Shrouded in the shadows, they remained unseen by the guards and the mages who stood alert upon the battlements.

"I'm surprised we didn't know about this sooner Soujirou." Soujirou masked his embarrassment with a sheepish smile.

"Mister Shishio has been very discreet, Sensei. He's posing as a mage, albeit a dirty one."

"How so?"

"According to my findings, after preying on some regular citizens, he began to lure apprentices with the promise of greater control and power over their spirit force. Then, under pretext of training them, he starts to leech off their spirit force and ultimately takes the soul."

"Are these mages idiots that don't realize what's going on?"

"I suspect he is using some sort of drug to induce a trance wherein they spike their power to a higher level."

"Of course. Gain power over them by giving them the illusion of power. His methods haven't changed."

"What do we do now Sensei?"

Kenshin smiled predatorily. "Let's shake him up a bit. How many has he claimed so far?"

Soujirou glanced at him, "The last count was four."

"Four…"

Soujirou caught the hard glint in his master's eyes and smiled. His master was keen to fight; he had that anticipatory gleam in his eyes. "What are you going to do Sensei?

Kenshin smirked. "Pick a fight."

**Author's Note**

Yes I know. Ten days and longer doesn't exactly qualify as "a few days". Apologies. But don't blame me…Blame Goa, blame the beach, blame the baby running about on the beach, Blame "In the Shadows" by Ravyn. Blame Florence and the Machine. Blame crazy-assed study schedules. Blame the fact that I absolutely have the clear this exam to teach. Otherwise, say bye-bye to teaching…forever.

Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please comment.


	3. Danse Macabre

Disclaimer: We all thank Watsuki Nobuhiro for creating Rurouni Kenshin and giving us sleepless nights.

Rating: T for the most part, certain chapters will be marked Mature for content but that's still a long way off.

* * *

><p><strong>Dark Promises<strong>

**Chapter 2: Danse Macabre**

Soujirou watched the towers on either side of the city gates with some wariness. It seemed as though a whole platoon of Red cloaks had descended upon the gates, watching the crowd for anything that even remotely resembled 'trouble'. He felt the tip of his katana brush his calf. The momentary contact reassured him, calmed him down. It wasn't nervousness – he had learnt never to be nervous a long time ago – it was just that mages meant curbing his instinctive use of spirit pressure on the off-chance that one of them might notice. And they really couldn't afford that, not right now. Their task was just beginning.

They passed through the gates without incident, cloaking their presence and making themselves and the power caged inside their souls invisible. Soujirou glanced at his master, striding confidently in front of him. His capability to manoeuvre himself so seamlessly in this plane never ceased to amaze him. He had changed his appearance while walking and shockingly nobody had noticed. Soujirou snorted. So much for all the eyes placed at the gates. They deserved to be plagued by demons if they couldn't even spot standard cloaking and illusion. He turned his attention back to his master. It was all illusion but so adroitly done that even he had to look carefully a second time to strip away the coil of the now blonde-haired, blue-eyed dandy carrying an ebony cane mounted by a golden mermaid to find his master's ki signature.

He wore a languid and uninterested expression on his face, easily slipping into the part of a young aristocrat jaded with the experience of pleasure, now just looking for something that could give pause to the ennui that was his daily existence. Unfazed by the sheer number of mortals walking about in their midst, Kenshin casually struck up a conversation with a man – a boy, really - who was walking a few paces in front of him.

Soujirou felt his lips curve into another smile as the boy stuttered self-consciously and tried to be of help. Oh yes, there were plenty of fine establishments a gentleman of quality could relax and enjoy a quiet drink in. Oh! And they entertained nobility very well, why if its entertainment they were after, they should definitely try out this new place near the old plaza. The establishment was very exclusive, and very discreet; the girls were gorgeous and clean; no trace of disease on any of them. And of course – here, the boy coughed lightly into his fist – if the preference was for boys; that could be arranged as well.

Kenshin smirked and pushed the boy into an alley, holding his face in his hands. Soujirou thought he saw faint traces of a blush staining the boy's cheeks but he might have been mistaken. "Nah…all I want is a bloody drink," he let his eyes drop languorously, "and maybe, if I get something stronger on the side, that'll work." He winked and his lips slipped into a lopsided grin that looked as drunken as him. He stuck a hand inside his coat pocket and drew out a couple of gold coins which he discreetly slipped into the boy's pocket.

The boy watched the transfer of coin with gleaming eyes and swallowed. "Um…how much stronger are we talking?"

Kenshin laughed softly and put his mouth to the boy's ear. "I want to fly." He bent his head, piercing blue eyes ablaze with recklessness. He grinned. "So, you think you can help me out?" The boy nodded. He looked around cautiously. Satisfied that nobody would be listening, he cupped his hand around his mouth and whispered a name and address into Kenshin's ear. Stepping away, he picked up the pace and literally scuttled away down an alley.

Soujirou watched as the grin faded away into a grimace and the martial rigidness of his master's back returned for a second before slipping back into the mask of a depraved young man-about-town. Kenshin continued to walk down the street in the manner of a man who's had much to drink but is still managing to walk without assistance. He followed as he entered a deserted promenade overlooking a small lake. Kenshin sat upon the stone staircase leading down to the jetty where you could hire a boat for a silver piece. Soujirou approached Kenshin carefully. "Do we have a location, Sensei?"

Kenshin snorted. "Shishio," he spoke the name as though it were a curse, "owns a dive near the mages' precious Academy. That's where we have to go." He bent and picked up a couple of pebbles lying in the middle of the stair. He rubbed them gently with his fingers.

Soujirou waited. Cryptic and Moody Sensei was a foreign language he was still learning. "So what's wrong?" He had been around Sensei long enough to recognise most of his mood swings – and he had lots of them – and something was not sitting right with his master.

"You'd think that in a city full of mages, powerful mages at that, somebody would realize that they have a power-crazed demon sitting in their backyard, selling candy to their young." He let one pebble drop and watched as it rolled over each successive step and fell with a 'plonk' into the lake.

"They didn't notice us either."

"Yes. Why is that? Four souls stolen already, isn't it a cause for concern? Aren't they bothered?" Kenshin asked curtly. He flicked the second pebble across the water, watching as it skipped across the water surface four times before sinking. He stood and faced Soujirou. "I suspect he is working with someone on the inside. There has to be somebody who knows exactly what he's doing and that person is helping deflect attention away from Shishio. How else can you explain a demon's presence so close to the Academy without alerting anyone?"

Soujirou nodded in agreement. "It is possible. Mister Shishio has always been very persuasive." He looked pensive. Kenshin huffed.

"This will not end well." He muttered under his breath. "Let's go."

X

Kaoru sighed wearily. Her shoulders ached and her neck felt like it was splitting at the sides. She gripped the ladder tightly once more and began her ascent to the top most step. Her arms strained under the pressure of holding onto the ladder with one hand and balancing two fat books with the other. She stopped and placed the books two steps above her own. Then hoisting one carefully in her hands, she leaned over and pushed the tome back into its pocket on the shelf. She repeated the action with the second tome and began her descent down to the floor.

Stretching her arms above her head, she wandered about in search of her master. The Black fluttered lightly from her shoulders. Her sneakers made no sound on the polished wooden floor of the library. It was a holiday; nobody would huff about her lack of formal clothing, so a pair of jeans and a crisp white shirt and sneakers settled comfortably on her slender frame.

Where was Master Saitoh? She scowled. If he thought he was getting out of teaching her again, boy was he mistaken! She hadn't been peddling books about all day just to get a pat on the head. After their last stormy 'conversation', they had reached an uneasy truce wherein Master Saitoh had promised her to work with her in finding out more about her latent power. Even though she couldn't do anything with it right now, learning about the origins of her insane spirit force would yield some answers at least.

She pushed the doors to the Archives open. She had seen Master Saitoh walking in earlier. She looked about calmly.

He stood at one of the windows, watching the night bazaar crowd. She was about to address him when someone else came and stood beside him. It was one of the masters she had seen the night before graduation. Master Nadir. He had been flustered. She narrowed her eyes. Maybe he had some news of the girl and was going to share it with Master Saitoh. She took a deep breath and set about calming her senses and mind just as Master Saitoh had taught her. It wasn't really eavesdropping, she was already in the room and _oh alright_ – she rolled her eyes - it _was_ eavesdropping but she really wanted to find out what happened and the probability of Master Saitoh telling her anything out of the goodness of his heart were next to nothing so - Kaoru grinned deviously – she was literally being forced to take matters into her hands.

Master Nadir mopped his forehead with a handkerchief. Master Saitoh glanced at him momentarily and then looked away. He huffed, making it clear that any show of nervousness and anxiety was beneath him and unlikely to garner any sympathy from him. "Hajime…."

This elicited a raised eyebrow and he turned to look at his colleague. "What?"

"What are we going to tell the Council?"

Kaoru knelt on the floor and quietly slipped her sneakers off. They weren't making much noise but she wanted to take no more chances. She snuck behind a large bookcase; the socks she wore muffled the sound of her footfalls completely. Getting down on her hands and knees, she hurriedly crawled to the last bookshelf and sat down beside it. Both the masters were easily audible from here.

"…..little else we can do."

"But Hajime, how long can we go without telling them? Everything that's been happening…they'll be furious if they find out we've been hiding things from them."

"So what do you propose we do Nadir?" Master Saitoh's eyes flashed. "Run to them for every little problem? They meddle in our affairs needlessly anyway, with this, they'll get an excuse to interfere with the running of the Academy more than they already do. And you know, as well as I do – that is the last thing we need."

Master Nadir shook his head with impatience. "No Saitoh. That is not what I want. But this has gone on long enough. We have to tell them. We need a fighting plan."

"We have a fighting plan and we are dealing with it. Some of my most trusted students are following clues to the demon even as we speak."

"Saitoh, this is not something that can be handled by a student! We need experienced Mages for this. We have to ask the Council for aid!"

"I am not in favour of letting the Council anywhere near this Academy until it's completely unavoidable." Master Saitoh's voice was measured and calm. He might have been talking about the weather for all its complacency, but Kaoru knew better.

"And why is that? What are you hiding Saitoh?" Master Nadir sneered.

"I would be careful Nadir. Do not stoke my temper. There are limits to my patience. Do not….test me." The heaviness of the air was suddenly compounded tenfold by an angry intent permeating the room. Waves of unrest and anger leapt off Master Saitoh's frame like flames. Kaoru cringed as she constructed a shield around herself within seconds. She watched slack jawed as the invisible familiar sitting next to Master Nadir suddenly appeared and began to pant as the angry spirit force singed its essence. She had never seen such a display. If this….oppression was the result of an ill-timed, ill-advised question, she shuddered to think what would happen if Master Saitoh ever became really angry. She swallowed. Well, if it ever happened, she definitely did not want to be in the same room as him….. cross that, she didn't even want to be in the same city as him.

Nadir looked at the limp figure of his familiar with alarm and glared daggers at Saitoh. His voice betrayed no trace of the molten anger he felt. "Saitoh, I know your opinion about my abilities is less than complimentary and I am aware that the security of the city and the Academy are both your responsibility….but don't ever call me out like that."

There was silence for a few moments as both men struggled to restructure the charade of congeniality amongst colleagues. Nadir knelt and lovingly stroked the fur of the charcoal-grey lynx that followed him about like a shadow.

Finally Nadir spoke, "I know why you don't want the Council to have any say here. I _understand_ but Saitoh, is one student worth risking a lifetime of loyalty for?" Despite trying, he couldn't keep a note of sly insinuation out of his voice.

Saitoh slowly turned towards him, eyes revealing a boredom he did not feel. "I'm sorry. I've trained my mind not to comprehend puerile, moronic garbage. So, you'll have to elaborate."

Nadir laughed softly. "This is why I like you Saitoh. So shrewd, so sly…you'd rather have me spell it out for you?" He rubbed his chin. "Well then; is your prized student out with the rest of your pack, hunting for the soul-stealer?"

Saitoh frowned. Nadir smirked. "I guessed not. Tell me something Saitoh, what use is a Black when all you have her do is push pens and fetch you coffee?" Kaoru froze. He was talking about her. She watched Saitoh, waiting for his answer.

Saitoh didn't move a muscle. There wasn't even a twitch on his face that would show he had been affected by any of Nadir's words. He smirked; the trademark feral stretch of his lips, "Keeping her out of trouble. Black cloaks and those who wear them are rare; which is why they have to be taken care of. And Kaoru will have more than her share of fighting to do before this is all over."

"But you don't intend to let her do any fighting do you? In fact, you don't intend to let her leave this Academy at all."

"You know nothing about it." Saitoh replied curtly. His forehead crumpled into a deep frown. He didn't like where this conversation was going.

"I know plenty. That girl is a veritable powerhouse but you refuse to let her train to become stronger. Why?"

"She isn't ready."

"If she is ready enough to wear the Black, she is ready to fight! I will not stand by as more people fall prey to this monster while you keep our best weapon locked up in an ivory tower."

"For God's sake, she's just a kid Nadir."

"A twenty three year old is not a child Saitoh." Nadir smirked.

"Regardless, she's still not ready though."

Nadir sighed. "You are determined to be difficult. Very well, I didn't want it to be this way, but you've left me no choice." He straightened his shoulders and stuck his chin in the air as though he wanted to impress with how authoritative he looked at the moment. "I have spoken to the others. We are going to the Council tonight; among other things we have decided to take Kamiya out of your guardianship and put her into a squad with Defence."

Saitoh's eyes narrowed to slits. "You never did have much patience."

"Unlike you, I know what is required of us." He puffed his chest out. The lynx at his feet curled its tail around his legs.

"That's what this was all about, wasn't it? You wanted Kamiya all along. The entire fluster and bumbling was just a sham."

"Something had to be done!"

"How long since you sold out?"

Nadir's eyes grew wide and he pursed his lips. "You cannot speak to me like that Saitoh. I won't stand for it."

"You'll stand for more and do nothing, because your masters haven't given you the permission to attack me. You're nothing but a dog, Nadir."

Nadir sputtered. He opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish. "We will collect Kamiya tomorrow morning. If she does not cooperate, you may consider yourself dismissed."

Saitoh turned away. "Leave now Nadir, and maybe I won't kill you." Nadir didn't wait to test the validity of that claim. As soon as Saitoh's back was turned, he bolted for the door. Kaoru slid back into the shadow of the bookshelf; her mind a tumult of emotion. They were going to put her in Defence. They were going to take her away from Master Saitoh. They were going to make her fight. It was everything she had wanted. It was what she had hoped for every day since she got the Black. But…why did her blood run cold at the thought? It wasn't supposed to happen like this. It felt as though she was poised upon a log racing down a cliff and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She slowly backed away and crawled back to the door.

As she left the building, she glanced back once more. Master Saitoh…all this time, he had been trying to shield her from the power struggle within factions of the Council. His unwillingness to project her gift openly stemmed from his apprehension of the council's motives. He was fond of her and didn't want to see her reduced to a weapon. Because that's all she was – to Master Nadir and the group he led – she was a weapon, a tool that could destroy any demon if she tried. She smiled wryly. But she was a faulty weapon. She had no safety catch, no brakes, and one speed only.

The power they wanted to unleash upon the demon could very well turn on her and them, if she couldn't stop it. It was why Master Saitoh had been so alarmed. This was the reason he had stopped training her, forbidding her to dip into that chasm between mind and soul for power. He had sensed something terrible in her two years ago and had never again attempted to venture into her mind. During the course of a duel, she had caught him and sucked him into a mental prison where he found himself drowning in pain. A pain so deep and pervasive that it seeped under his eyes, tore at his brain and ran like fire over his skin. He had only managed to burst out by lashing out violently at her. His spirit fore blazed out and smothered her till she snapped out of it, letting him out in the process. She had been dead to the world for the next three days. When she finally awoke on the fourth day, she found herself back in her room, with a furious-looking Master Saitoh glaring down at her as he sat in a chair at her bedside. That was two years ago.

She wandered aimlessly through the corridors of the Academy, out the gates, towards the hills that sat heavily beyond the south gate of the academy. She kept her eyes on the ground, and her hands stuffed in her pockets. Now, more than ever, she wanted to be left alone. She had to think. She had peeled the Black off her body and stuffed it into her shoulder bag; eager to forget it for the first time since yesterday. Yesterday…had it been just yesterday that she was jumping up and down, asking to be put in the frontlines? She shook her head as hot water welled up in her eyes and began to slip down her cheeks. Why couldn't she be happy? This was what she had wanted, wasn't it? She wanted everybody to acknowledge how strong she was, how powerful she was – here was her opportunity – so why wasn't her heart doing a little dance of happiness? She pulled her hands out of her pockets as she climbed the hill to make her way to the top. Flinging herself onto the grassy slope of the hill, she stared at the stars.

"What do I do now?"

X

The air seemed to shatter and vibrate as Shishio's sword once more pierced through Kenshin's shields and slammed down onto his sword. Kenshin twisted and rammed his second blade under the first, lending it support. He pushed heavily, forcing Shishio to stumble back. The pressure of Shishio's spirit made the air inside the club feel oppressive. It gnawed and grasped at his ki. Its greedy fingers latched on to anything with a spirit pulse and leeched it dry. Kenshin panted. His initial strikes had hit Shishio hard but now, he was bringing out his arsenal. It was becoming obvious, that soul-stealing wasn't the only lowlife trick he'd picked up in the decades of exile he had been forced into. Kenshin shook his head. This was not good and this was not supposed to have happened.

_They had found the place easily enough and getting inside was also relatively simple. It was, as they had suspected, a drug den. Groups of young mages slouched about on couches and recliners. Their movements were slow and sluggish. Their eyes looked glassy. The smoke from the pipes filled the club with hazy, unclean air. Kenshin gnashed his teeth together and blinked. They needed to get out of here fast – even though they weren't actively smoking the garbage, if they stood in the fumes for long, the mind numbing nerve-death that the smoke brought free with ecstasy would be smothering their senses too, demonic resistance notwithstanding. He was about to make a move when Soujirou nudged him and began to nonchalantly pull him in one direction. _

_Down a curve, a staircase led to an upper room, bigger than the one they had left. There, in the middle of the room, a young boy with glazed eyes whirled round and round in the air. He was spinning like a top, a lazy smile on his face and strange currents of light running down his arm. Kenshin felt his eyebrows shoot up. What was going on?_

_He stiffened as someone spoke up beside him, "Amazing isn't it?"_

"_What is it?"_

"_The hazia allows the body to remain in this plane even as the mind begins to penetrate the dimensions to search for greater power. We strengthen our spirit force and awaken the cognitive functions of the mind in another dimension and channel that power back here, in the limbo created by smoking hazia."_

_Kenshin glanced to his right to find another mage, dressed in a red cloak. He smiled vacantly and his eyes were blank, identical to the people they had seen outside. "But that's the Archmage's power."_

_Kenshin frowned. "Archmage?"_

_The boy laughed. "Well, we call him the Archmage. The Academy doesn't know about him but he is insanely powerful. His magic is bound by no laws. But the best part is he's willing to share his knowledge. He doesn't have palpitations if someone asks him how to do stuff – because he's not jealous that way." He twitched suddenly and Kenshin felt his frown deepen as the boy continued to twitch violently, until he turned away and collapsed on a rug in a corner. He glanced at the figure levitating in the centre of the room before turning away in disgust. _

_Complications had begun when they were recognised. The slinking shadow that retreated further into the club had seemed familiar; the feel of that ki was familiar. Soujirou froze and stared after it. He would recognise that ki signature anywhere! Kenshin let his camouflage flutter away slowly and stalked after Kamatari. _

_The feminine man leaned against a door, waiting for them. "Just two? How insulting."_

"_We're more than enough for you Kamatari." Soujirou replied casually, looking around for any trouble that might be waiting for them when they finished here. _

_Kamatari smirked. "Awwww… Sou-chan is all grown up is he? Ain't that adorable!" A dazzling smile graced his features but his eyes took on a dangerous look as he looked from Soujirou to the amber-eyed demon lord who was watching the scene with wariness. "Battousai." He didn't even pretend to mask the unrestrained hatred in his voice as he glared at Kenshin. _

"_My my, we must really be bothering the old coot if he has deigned to send you after us."_

_Kenshin rolled his eyes. "Where is Shishio, Kamatari?"_

_Kamatari looked at him shrewdly. "So eager to fight…you don't have any idea what you're getting into…" He turned suddenly, as though answering a summons, then glanced back at the duo standing before him. "Well, he's asked for you. Looks like you get your wish." He pushed away from the wall and uttered an incantation under his breath. The wall behind him parted and moved aside to reveal a softly-lit corridor paved with sparkling marble and panelled with dark wood. _

_It had all gone downhill from there. And now Kenshin was faced with an insanely strong Shishio who was burning four times more spirit power in his attacks than he had ever done before._

"Is that all you are capable of Battousai?" Shishio stalked forward, malice dripping off his voice like water. "Peace doesn't agree with you. You and I…we are men of agitation. We need war, we need bloodshed….to retain that which we are….you have become soft."

Kenshin leaned on his katana and slowly returned to his feet. "You're a madman Shishio."

"Mad? I am mad?" He laughed like a maniac. "How many years has it been since you ran me out of Miramar? Did you think I would forget everything? Did you think I would leave it all behind? No! I remember everything Battousai. Every blow to my body, every betrayal of trust…I remember it all because when the time has come for vengeance, I will forget nothing. You thought you could destroy me. You thought that by sealing my power, my spirit you would stop me, but you haven't. Look at me now Battousai. You can't even begin to comprehend the power I command."

"It's not your power. You're a parasite, leeching off the spirit force of innocent people."

"Innocent? There's nothing innocent about them Battousai. They come to me because they, like me, want power. They want to be strong, they want to be powerful, and they want to be me."

Kenshin steadied his breathing and concentrated on loosening up his muscles before he struck again. There was still a chance. If he could keep Shishio talking, gloating for a little while longer, he would have the time to pull himself and Soujirou out of here. He glanced at his apprentice. He had told Soujirou to stay out of the fight, knowing that if he allowed Soujirou to enter the fight, Shishio would kill him without a second thought. Shishio had never forgotten that Soujirou had chosen to leave him and follow Kenshin in their previous battle - the battle that had resulted in his exile from the demon realm. If anyone could hold a grudge it was Shishio.

He breathed deeply. How had they allowed things to deteriorate so much? They should have known about this sooner! This was slowly turning into a fight where he would have to fight with everything he had to make it out of here. Shishio had never been an easy opponent but now, with the sort of power he radiated, Kenshin knew it was foolishness to stick around.

As he readied himself for a final assault against Shishio, he looked towards Soujirou. He looked like a statue. His fingers clenched around the hilt of his sword and his smile had dimmed just marginally, even he understood the seriousness of the situation.

Shishio flexed his muscles and strode forward. Kenshin took a step back. His right side was bleeding freely where Shishio had cut him with his sword. The weave of magic in his sword ensured that the wound kept bleeding. Tiny, microscopic strings of energy wove in and out of his flesh, tearing the delicate tendrils of clotting blood. And now, Shishio raised his arm once more. Currents of electricity began to appear on the tips of his fingers as he prepared to attack again. Kenshin narrowed his eyes and watched as the crackling energy collected in the form of a sword. Shishio braced his steel blade with the blue-white blade of the energy particles and rushed forward towards him. Kenshin's eyes grew wide as his shield was ripped apart and both swords aimed towards his torso. He flew back, and swung his sword in a desperate arc, blocking the steel blade, even as his spirit force rushed to the fore and covered him in a warm blanket of protection. He smirked but as he looked up, he saw Soujirou's eyes widen in horror. He glanced back to find Shishio standing behind him, holding aloft a web of silver wire. He tossed the web over Kenshin.

Kenshin screamed as the silver began to burn his essence and eat away his spirit. Shishio ignored the burning he felt in his fingers and uttered an incantation as he hurtled into the air, pulling Kenshin behind him. As they burst into the might sky, Shishio whirled the net around and flung him across the city skyline. Kenshin disappeared, like a speck in the air, flying over the Academy walls. Shishio smirked. If he landed on Academy land, Saitoh would not spare him.

X

Kaoru scrambled to her feet as a…a star fell in the sky above. She watched transfixed as a burning ball of gas and light seemed to tear across the piece of sky over her head. She whipped her head around, following it as fast as she could see. She jumped to her feet and raced after it. What the hell was that? She stumbled as rocks and upturned roots tripped her several times in the meadow.

Faster, run faster Kaoru.

She stopped as she reached almost the end of the grassy meadow. There, amongst the reeds and the tall grass, lay the most beautiful stranger she had ever seen. His dark red hair fell across his forehead and eyes in bangs. He clutched a sword in his hand and even though his clothes were in tatters, a single glance was enough to tell her that they had been made of the finest cloth. His breaths came shallow and in pants. His chest heaved up and down as he struggled to draw breath.

Kaoru knelt beside him. There was blood flowing freely from a ugly wound on his right side, besides numerous small cuts and abrasions on his skin. Kaoru swallowed thickly. As she rested her fingers on his forehead, she felt a strong jolt of electricity that shook her to her core.

His ki…she had never felt anything like this before. It was strong, unbelievably strong and it was distinctly the ki of a demon. She gasped but couldn't bring herself to get up and raise an alarm. She sat beside him quietly, silently surveying the damage done and calculation how she was going to get him home so she could begin dealing with his injuries. She looked at his face once more. His eyelids slowly fluttered open. Kaoru looked into his eyes and was lost. The soft gleam of amethyst eyes enchanted her. He looked at her in confusion and apprehension.

She smiled and moved closer, causing him to jerk away.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

He watched her warily and did not move back towards her.

Kaoru swallowed once more. "I am going to help you. You need to be taken somewhere safe."

Suddenly, he glanced at her as though he was seeing her for the first time and smirked. Kaoru felt her breath hitch in her throat. How could somebody look so attractive even as he lay covered in blood and ash?

"What are you doing?" His voice was soft, cultured and deep. It reminded her of honey on a sun-filled day.

She cleared her throat. "You need help."

He laughed. "Do you know what I am?"

Kaoru nodded slowly.

"Aren't you scared?"

She kept her eyes on the ground before answering. "I'm terrified."

"Then why don't you run?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to."

"Oh. That's not a very good idea. The penalty for helping a demon in this city is death."

"Only if they find out."

"They will. They always do."

"You need help." She replied softly.

He scoffed. "I will manage little girl. You, need to leave, right away."

"I can't just leave you like this!"

"You can."

Kaoru shook her head again. She looked down at her wrist as burning fingers closed around her wrist and pulled her towards him. He propped himself up. His fingers reached out and touched her face, stroking her cheek and jaw before curling around her cheek.

"You need to go." His voice rasped. "Go…before I decide that you are willing and ready to give me what I want."

"I will help you."

"You don't know…." He blinked, trying to stay awake…"you don't know what you're getting into…but I admire your courage, little girl."

A/N

Thanks for all the love guys. Please comment.


	4. Cosmic Love

**Summary**: While healing a wounded stranger, Kaoru unknowingly calls upon her essence to seal the injury, creating a spirit bond. But the amber-eyed demon lord she has just revived is in no mood to be saddled with a mortal female. KK. Dark-ish fic.

**Disclaimer**: Rurouni Kenshin and all its characters, events and places belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro.

**Rating**: T. To be safe, certain chapters will be marked as MATURE

Right, so we've finally come upon the chapter or rather the situation where this craziness began. I was listening to **Florence and the Machine** and out of nowhere, this idea pops into my head and takes residence and refuses to be evicted. So here we are.

**Cosmic Love** **by Florence and the Machine** should be played continuously on loop for the duration of this chapter. Even if you don't get why. That's alright. That's inspiration or you.

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><p><strong>Dark Promises<strong>

**Chapter 3: Cosmic Love**

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><p><em>He scoffed. "I will manage little girl. You, need to leave, right away."<em>

_"I can't just leave you like this!"_

_"You can."_

_Kaoru shook her head again. She looked down at her wrist as burning fingers closed around her wrist and pulled her towards him. He propped himself up. His fingers reached out and touched her face, stroking her cheek and jaw before curling around her cheek._

_"You need to go." His voice rasped. "Go…before I decide that you are willing and ready to give me what I want."_

_"I will help you."_

_"You don't know…." He blinked, trying to stay awake…"you don't know what you're getting into…but I admire your courage, little girl."_

Kaoru finally let out the breath she had been holding as his fingers slipped from her face, his eyes shut and he collapsed upon the ground in agony. She sat up and quickly weighed her options. She didn't know much about healing demons but she was pretty sure that she'd find something useful in the grimoire lent to her by Master Saitoh. She nodded to herself and stepped back. He was losing blood rapidly and she had no idea as to the extent of his internal and spirit injuries so she had to move him and fast.

If she waited to create a transport, they might lose precious time looking or something suitable to metamorphose. Deciding quickly, she clasped his hand in her own and closed her eyes, uttering an incantation. The chill that accompanied any teleportation seeped into her bones followed by a feeling of weightlessness and lightheadedness. When she opened her eyes again, they were inside her room. Kaoru shook her head, shaking away the remnants of dizziness. She rushed to her bed, stripping it of the covers and clearing a table of books and papers, she dragged it to the bedside. Satisfied that she'd have enough space to work, she went back to the demon. Slipping a hand under him, she pulled him to a sitting position; he was surprisingly light. She pulled his arm around her shoulder and stood. They swayed dangerously. She frantically brought up both hands to keep him from collapsing on her and pushed him onto the bed.

Thankfully her bed was soft, preventing further injury from the force of her push. Kaoru bit her lip. Oh dear gods. She hadn't meant to push him. It was just that he had been suddenly so close and she panicked. She could still feel the heat of his body. Kaoru rolled her eyes. Great Kaoru, this is what you get for being such a social wallflower. You can't even heal a man without subconsciously reading things into even an accidental touch. He was unconscious for crying out loud!

The grimoire lay closed upon a bookstand. Kaoru picked up a tiny dagger from the assorted knick-knacks on the table and slid the tip into the centre of her palm, allowing three drops to fall upon the black covers. The blood drops seeped into the book instantly, leaving no trace after a few seconds. She placed her hand on it and muttered her name as well as the quick opening spell only she and Master Saitoh knew. The book flew open, the pages flapping rapidly at the speed of her thoughts. She glanced at the demon but he lay completely still. The pages finally stopped turning. Kaoru peeked in and smiled as the inky scrawl detailed the steps she needed to take. Hurriedly, skimming through the instructions, Kaoru rushed back to the man (demon?) lying on her bed. She pushed her sleeves up and sat down beside him. Grabbing a pair of scissors, she proceeded to cut away his shirt. She raised an eyebrow. She had only seen these kinds of clothes in history books. Pushing back the thought that it was too nice a garment to be butchered so carelessly, she snipped away and tossed the pieces into the trashcan.

Her eyes grew wide.

Water. She'd forgotten about water. Muttering darkly, she raised her hand and flexed her fingers. A basin of clean water and bandages appeared in the air and settled down upon the small table beside her. She quickly soaked a roll of gauze and cleaned the wound. Her breath caught in her throat and she had to push back bile from her throat. The wound was several inches wide, a deep gash cutting across several layers of tissue, but as she could easily make out, it had missed any organs. She threw the bloodied roll into the bin. The real work began now.

She placed her hand above the wound, and remembering the spell in the grimoire, she began to pour her spirit force into him.

Immediately, the demon's defences came alive and a blinding pain seized her as her ki was repelled and thrown away from him. Pain seared through her head as the world grew black around her. She gasped as her room, her body, the light all slipped away from her, shoving her in some limitless abyss. She was falling, turning round and round in an airless void. Her eyes burned, cold steely fingers closed around her throat and a rasping voice whispered in her ear,

"You should have run when you had the chance….little girl."

X

Soujirou gaped in horror as his master was flung clear across the firmament in a net of silver. If the situation hadn't been so ridiculously dangerous, he would have likened it to the movement of a shooting star. Shishio pulled his lips in an ugly sneer and stared down at him. Soujirou's mind was running round in circles. He had to get out. He had to leave before he drawn into a fight, into a situation none of them could control, before it all went to hell. He struggled to summon the nerve to smile but only for an instant. His lips curved into a smile.

"Still smiling." Kamatari's voice cut through the mental gymnastics going on in his mind. He turned to see the slender man scowl as he began to advance. "I hate that smile."

Shihsio laughed. "That's not very nice Kamatari."

Kamatari kept staring at him. Soujirou knew why. Back when he had been little more than Shishio's dog-on-a-leash, Kamatari resented him, resented the position he held, as Shishio's right hand man. Because Kamatari was always a little less than him. He wasn't the best fighter Shishio had, nor was he the preferred one in Shishio's bed. He was…just something who sat in the middle. Not his best fighter, and not his favourite lover but a little bit of both. Soujirou stood his ground and allowed his smile to become slightly mocking. He could take Kamatari in a fight, he wasn't worried about that. He glanced at Shishio. No, what he was worried about was his former master.

Kamatari smirked. "I'm going to wipe that smile off your face, and then I'm going to cut away those pretty eyes of yours and stab you full of holes."

"You always were a bit morbid. Is that your way of compensating for something?"

Kamatari smirked, unaffected by the innuendo. He raised his hand in the air and plucked his enormous scythe out. Placing the shaft lovingly on his shoulders, he looked at Soujirou, "You've developed a sense of humor. That's cute." He ran his eyes hungrily over Soujirou's body. "In fact, you've become downright pretty Sou-chan."

He looked at Shishio. "Shishio-sama, when this is over, can I keep him?"

Soujirou felt a chill run down his spine as Shishio flicked his blood-coloured eyes towards him and shrugged. "Do what you want with him; a traitor and his fate are of no consequence to me."

Soujirou watched carefully as Shishio disappeared. He slowly released the breath he'd been holding. He looked at Kamatari who was still watching him like he couldn't decide what he wanted. Soujirou slid his foot to the side. With Shishio gone, he would have to finish this quickly then go look for his sensei.

"Do you want to know why Shishio-sama left?"

Soujirou smiled. "I suppose he has any number of take-over-the-world things to do."

Kamatari frowned. "No, you ingrate. He believes in me, believes in me to finish you off. You are going to die here and I will send your body back to Miramar in a gift box!" And he charged forward, stunning Soujirou with his speed. Eyes wide, Soujirou stepped lightly out of the way, deflecting the curving blade of the scythe, and brought his katana up to his chest to catch the spiked ball mid swing. He jumped back, his smile stretching just slightly tighter. When had Kamatari become so fast? He narrowed his eyes as he dodged another strike. He had to keep focussed or he'd never get out of here. The insane strength and speed with which Kamatari kept raining blows on him forced him on the defensive and Soujirou just didn't do defensive.

Soujirou grit his teeth and forced himself to slow down and think. It was obvious that Shishio and his men hadn't been sitting idle in their exile. They had boosted their power so it was to be expected. He wasn't fighting the Kamatari he knew a decade ago. He was fighting a man whose abilities had greatly improved.

Digging his heels into the ground, Soujirou began to tap his foot, getting ready to finish this. He had wasted enough time.

_I'm coming Sensei_.

X

Cold fingers ran down the length of her arms and spun her around. Eyes, the colour of burnished gold stared down into hers. The eyes were all she was conscious of until a face began to take shape around them. High cheekbones, straight nose, dark red hair contained in a high ponytail. She swallowed.

"Nothing to say?" His voice was deep, rich like velvet and it sent tremors through her body. She blinked, and her training kicked in. He was trying to trap her. Demons were extraordinarily beautiful and they never hesitated to use the beauty of their form to lure and intimidate mortals. She knew this! Then why was it affecting her? It was all a ruse – a sort of survival instinct that kicked in automatically when his mind was forcibly breached. He had no way of knowing she was trying to help, which is why he took her to be an intruder trying to exploit his weakened state to pull power from him. But she wasn't and so, he….should not be having this effect on her.

He should not…..but he was.

His fingers slid up her arms to lock just above her elbow. He pulled her forward, grasping her ribs, sliding his hands past her breasts to her back, eliciting an indignant gasp. She squirmed and wriggled out of his hold and stepped away. From the amused glint in his eyes, she suspected he had let her. Even though it wasn't really happening, even though it was all inside the hidden vacuum of his mind, she felt her skin burn where his hands had been.

"What are you doing, you – you pervert!"

He chuckled. "So feisty…and yet so shy. It can't have been that strange. Other men must have done worse."

Kaoru felt her jaw drop. She snapped it shut a second later. "What the devil do you mean!" She hollered at him. "What sort of girl do you take me to be? I'm not some idiotic, man-crazy, hormone-driven idiot. I am a genius! I am at the top of my class and I..I.." She poked her finger in his chest, the anger peeling away what little fear she had of him. Until…his eyes gleamed. In anger.

"If you are such a genius," His voice was soft and dangerous, "then what are you doing here?"

She bit her lip, "I was trying to help you. I don't mean to intrude but you need me. If you are not healed soon, you might die…or fade...or whatever it is you demons do."

She attempted to step away as he pulled her close once more. Holding her captive in his arms, he bent his head to whisper in her ear, "You are willing to help me?"

"Yes." She replied in a small voice.

"And what if it causes you pain?"

"It won't."

He chuckled again, "Because you're a genius?"

She didn't reply. She honestly didn't know what to say. As she felt his arms loosen and his hands fall away from her body, she turned but the nightmarish shadow world of his perplexed mind fell away and she found herself back in her body, still attempting to heal, but this time her ki was allowed into his essence. She mechanically set about putting him together, even as a tiny voice in the back of her head asked her why she was doing it. He was a demon.

Ideally she should summon Master Saitoh and let him know about him but she didn't, and she knew she wouldn't. The demon was the first spark of adventure and excitement to have touched her dry existence and she was not going to hand him over to the Council to be 'dealt with'. She sighed.

In her twenty three years of existence, never had a man touched like this. She had never felt this quickening of her heartbeat, this flood of heat, or the quaking of her knees. Even so, she knew intrinsically, that it wasn't his touch but the heat in his eyes when he looked at her that made her feel so. Those eyes held the promise of so much more than a mere brush of fingers against her skin, or the press of his hands against the side of her breast. No, his eyes held a world of meaning. Or a few seconds she had been all that consumed him. For an orphan like her, who had never been important enough for anyone to give her a second glance, those few moments had been like rain in a desert. Her loneliness gnawed at her heart.

Because Kaoru was lonely. After the classes were over, after Misao left for her home, the black shadow of emptiness would surround her and suck upon her soul like a leech. She had no memories of her parents. She had been left on the steps of the academy, a shivering little bundle of smiles and sneezes. A kind Master had taken her in. When she was three, she had stuck her hand in the fire. The Master had rushed to her and pulled her hand out but she was unscathed. A flame danced in her palm and she laughed, "Look, Pa." And she pulled the flame and twisted it to form a lollipop. The mage shook her hand free of the flame and looked at her sternly, "Kaoru, you must never do that again."

"Why, Pa?"

"Because…" He had floundered. What reason could he give to a child? A child, who knew no difference between the magic of a mage and that of a demon. He sighed. "It will scare people."

"Promise me, promise you will never do this again."

"I promise, Pa."

She didn't keep the promise, and that was something she lived to regret all her life.

X

Her eyes drooped and she could feel her fingers going numb. No…she had to keep going. He wasn't healed yet, if he didn't heal, she would never see his eyes again. No...keep going, keep going. She pressed her hand against his body, the passage of power still open. Her head slumped.

Under his fingers, the wound had closed. The demon stirred.

X

Kenshin groaned. He slowly opened his eyes. A working model of a sun and stars was attached to the ceiling, the planets and stars apparently moved. His eyes took in the books covering every possible space, the boxes of dried herbs, bottles, pens, scrolls, an empty goldfish bowl, a head of dark hair, a table covered with bandages…wait.

He glanced back. Soft blue-black hair fanned out at his side. The mortal it belonged to was fast asleep, her hand pressed to his side, his lips moving as though uttering a spell, a soft glow emanating from her fingers. Kenshin sat up. His chest was bare. He looked around and found the cut pieces of his gi lying on the floor beside the bed. As he moved, the girl's hand fell from his body and she rolled off her chair. He blinked.

Oh merciful heavens, no!

He quickly slipped off the bed and knelt beside her. Her pulse was faint. He picked her up and placed her on the bed. Running a hand through his hair, he grimaced. So….it hadn't been a dream. She had been real. He had let a mortal drain themselves of their spirit force to heal him. He groaned. Shishou was going to kill him.

He paced about, always returning to the bed to stare at the girl. He narrowed his eyes. She was powerful, to have healed him. Even though she was drained herself, she had possessed enough power to put him back on his feet. How was that possible?

His train of thought was interrupted then. The girl moaned. He instantly sat beside her and placed his fingers on her forehead. Her moaning ceased and she gained the strangest expression on her face, an expression of peace and calm. He was stunned. In spite of himself, he smiled, remembering her insistence to help. His smile faded as he realized that she had set things in motion that would inevitably lead trouble to her door.

He placed his hand on her forehead. When he didn't feel any barriers stopping him, he tentatively pushed his ki through to her mind, just enough to ease the natural recovery of her spirit. If spirits could be classified in terms of the power seen in the mortal plane, he would have said that her ki was like sunshine, bright, clear, and powerful.

As he rose to leave, warm fingers grabbed his wrist in a vice-like grip. He glanced down at her. She was still asleep. But, she wouldn't let him go. He frowned.

Kneeling down beside the bed, he spoke, "Let me go now." She didn't budge. He rolled his eyes and plunged both of them back inside the abyss he'd taken her earlier.

She stood before him, looking confused and lost. She wrapped her arms around her body and looked at him accusingly, "You were going to leave, just like that."

He smirked. "What were you expecting?"

She scoffed. "A little gratitude would be nice."

He drew closer. Something about her standing there, looking crossly at him made him want to ruffle her hair, "Is that so? Should I kiss you goodbye then?"

Kaoru blushed. "No. That's not what I meant."

He smirked. "No?"

"No."

"What a pity." He stuck his lip out. "Alright, I know. Take what you will from me. I shall not stop you."

Kaoru simply stared at him. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely."

She shivered. Knowing she'd never get another opportunity like this again, she stepped closer and pressed her forehead to his, revelling in the rush of his thoughts and his power as his consciousness surrounded her, overwhelmed her. There were so many things. What could she possibly take from him that would be his and if she took it, hers, and hers alone? She bit her lips as the millions of flashes of light and colour named themselves and called out to her. In the midst of all the fire, the storm that was his mind, she noticed a calm little knot, residing in the very back. It sat alone. She slowly drew towards it. It did not flee. She stretched her hand out to touch it.

Kenshin snapped his eyes open as he realized what she had touched. He pulled her away, even as her spirit enveloped and entwined the little knot with her core, her essence.

"No!" He rasped. "No, not that. You cannot!"

He pushed her away and Kaoru fell, down the limitless depth of a cold, dark sea. Her fingers, her hands, her body grew numb and sunk yet her fingers did not let go of a tiny little knot of amber and crimson and amethyst and indigo.

It stayed with her.

**Author's Note**

Wow. Yeah. I did not anticipate this. Seriously, this just happened. It's 5:46 am. And I've been writing since 2:30. Darn. Now I'm gonna be a zombie all day. Ehh, it was worth it. Oh and I updated 50 Photographs too.

And I anybody is interested; please go read In the Shade of Pink Elephants. Shameless plugging, yes I know. Please please please please. Um…but no pressure. No…really.

Please comment.


	5. Nightmare

**Summary**: While healing a wounded stranger, Kaoru unknowingly calls upon her essence to seal the injury, creating a spirit bond. But the amber-eyed demon lord she has just revived is in no mood to be saddled with a mortal female. KK. Dark-ish fic.

**Disclaimer**: Rurouni Kenshin and all its characters, events and places belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro.

**Rating**: M for blood and gore

Have I mentioned how much I love reading your reviews? All of you, thank you so much!

This chapter is dedicated to my sister, **metalmonkey8** for nagging about it constantly. heh, she knows what a lazy bum I am. Thanks babe and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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><p><strong>Dark Promises<strong>

**Chapter 4: Nightmare**

Recap

_She stood before him, looking confused and lost. She wrapped her arms around her body and looked at him accusingly, "You were going to leave, just like that."_

_He smirked. "What were you expecting?"_

_She scoffed. "A little gratitude would be nice."_

_He drew closer. Something about her standing there, looking crossly at him made him want to ruffle her hair, "Is that so? Should I kiss you goodbye then?"_

_Kaoru blushed. "No. That's not what I meant."_

_He smirked. "No?"_

"_No."_

"_What a pity." He stuck his lip out. "Alright, I know. Take what you will from me. I shall not stop you."_

_Kaoru simply stared at him. "Are you serious?"_

"_Absolutely." _

_She shivered. Knowing she'd never get another opportunity like this again, she stepped closer and pressed her forehead to his, revelling in the rush of his thoughts and his power as his consciousness surrounded her, overwhelmed her. There were so many things. What could she possibly take from him that would be his and if she took it, hers, and hers alone? She bit her lips as the millions of flashes of light and colour named themselves and called out to her. In the midst of all the fire, the storm that was his mind, she noticed a calm little knot, residing in the very back. It sat alone. She slowly drew towards it. It did not flee. She stretched her hand out to touch it. _

_Kenshin snapped his eyes open as he realized what she had touched. He pulled her away, even as her spirit enveloped and entwined the little knot with her core, her essence. _

"_No!" He rasped. "No, not that. You cannot!"_

_He pushed her away and Kaoru fell, down the limitless depth of a cold, dark sea. Her fingers, her hands, her body grew numb and sunk yet her fingers did not let go of a tiny little of amber and crimson and amethyst and indigo. _

_It stayed with her. _

There were very few things in the world that ever disturbed Hajime Saitoh. He was a cold man, hardened by years of seeing and knowing too much. He lived life according to principles that made moral sense to him, and he knew no other way of living. He was not unaware of the rumbling disapproval and fear of his methods in the corridors of power at Herath. He knew minutely the treachery the mages sitting on the Council were capable of. He knew the lengths they could go to for power; because power was something there was never enough of.

He had known he wouldn't be able to keep the search for the soul-stealer under his jurisdiction for long but what he hadn't anticipated was that they would use this demon to justify drafting, forcibly if need be, Kamiya Kaoru into their service. It was an inconvenience he did not intend to suffer from. They were fools, to think they could control something they could not even name. Kamiya's power was old, older than the magick of the mages. His master had been a singularly powerful and learned mage who had spent his lifetime studying and observing demons. Even he had not been able to define that which gave Kamiya her power. This seed of discordant might had lurked inside her essence even when she had been a mere infant in his master's care. There was something dangerous lurking inside Kamiya and he didn't want it unleashed on anybody, not even them.

And so, he found himself standing outside her home, watching, and waiting. If they had a move to make, now was the time. And he would be ready for them.

As he leaned against a faulty lamp post, a thin ribbon of smoke curled out of his mouth and curved a path in the air. He looked at his student's house. The lights were out. She was not in. He dropped the butt of his cigarette to the ground, wondering absently if he'd have to go looking for her. Preoccupied in these thoughts, he busied himself with counting the bricks in the wall circling his student's house when his senses suddenly screamed, alerting him to danger. A powerful maelstrom of spirit force appeared out of nowhere and weighed down upon his senses. He snapped his head up, staring at Kamiya's dark house. A demon!

Saitoh raced across the street and slammed his shoulder against the door. It didn't budge. He stepped back and tried to force the door open with magic, but his spell repelled and bounced back to him. Saitoh glared at the door. It was covered with Kamiya's essence. She was blocking him! A powerful ward blocked his magic from intruding. He reached out to touch the door but drew his hand back when an electrifying heat threatened to singe his fingers if he came too close. He scowled. He could sense Kamiya inside, but she was no longer alone. A distinctly alien ki signature entwined itself around her spirit force and was slowly, but steadily drawing her power into itself. Saitoh growled. He whipped around the house and attempted to blast his way through the backdoor but he was blocked once more. Saitoh swore under his breath.

Of course! He couldn't force his way inside if Kamiya did not want him in. This house was bound to her by blood and magic. It obeyed her will and if she did not will him to be allowed inside, then he could move heaven and earth but the house would not let him in. The house was part of the inheritance left to Kamiya by his former master. It accepted Kaoru as its rightful owner which meant, he could do precious little until his wayward student decided to come to her senses and let him in.

In the meanwhile, Saitoh gnashed his teeth together as the gyrating spires of the spirit energy of a mage and demon became more and more entangled. _Kamiya, what on earth are you doing?_

X

Soujirou cut his blade across Kamatari's back in a stunning and deadly display of precision and merciless retaliation. Spinning on one foot, he unsheathed his wakizashi and plunged its poisoned blade into Kamatari's side. Kamatari screamed in pain, clutching his ribs, he stumbled away, coming to a stop a few paces away. His knee touched the floor and his breath came in ragged pants. The tip of the enormous scythe slipped from his shoulders and crashed to the ground. He placed one hand, palm down on the ground, desperately trying to steady himself. Blood trickled in a steady stream from one side of his mouth, the cut on his back, oozed blood slowly, the wound burning as the poison worked itself into his bloodstream.

Soujirou stood as still as a statue, both swords drawn and ready. His eyes narrowed, as he appraised Kamatari's wounds. His last blow should put him out of commission for a while. He was weak from blood loss and the poison would soon make him drowsy. There was nothing more to be done. If he got treatment on time, he would live, if he neglected it, he would die from blood poisoning.

Nodding his head, Soujirou slid his feet back together. He sheathed both his swords and looked around warily. Certain, that nobody else would be coming to challenge him; he strode towards Kamatari and knelt beside him. The older man shuddered, as the weight of the scythe cut into his shoulder, and the poison stole his strength.

Kamatari turned a hateful glare at Soujirou, snarling as the smiling young man casually wrapped the iron ball-and-chain around his neck, loosely. The weight of the scythe would prevent the ball from dropping loose and if he moved his head, the chain would catch and his neck would snap in less than a second. He rolled his eyes, "You always were a sadistic little fuck."

Soujirou smiled amiably. "You know how it was Sempai, Mister Shishio never let me forget a lesson. You have to thank him for this."

Kamatari laughed. "Fucking ironic."

"It is, isn't it?" Soujirou brushed some dirt from his shoulder. "How did you become so strong Sempai? You wouldn't have lasted five minutes against me earlier, yet I am not ashamed to say, I had to work hard to defeat you."

Kamatari snorted, "How big an idiot do you think I am? I'm not telling you anything."

Soujirou tilted his head. "Really?" Kamatari sneered at him. Soujirou stood and walked around Kamatari and knelt once again. His flashed a winning smile at his former colleague. "Sempai, are you still ticklish?" Kamatari's eyes grew wide with apprehension and then shut in pain as Soujirou plunged his fingers into the gaping wound beside his ribs.

Kamatari roared in pain "…Fucker! Soujirou, you twisted little sadist, I swear I'll rip your throat out..ah! You fiend, I'll kill you…." He continued to swear a blue streak, promising Soujirou all manners of untold pain and suffering, but he didn't utter another word about Shishio, their operations, or how they had managed to steal four mortal souls already.

Soujirou withdrew momentarily and sat watching Kamatari with icy-cold detachment, ignoring the way the skin sagged around the wound in his ribs. One minute passed. Soujirou turned his head, smile still intact, watching the solid oak double doors, that Shishio had shut over half an hour ago. Kamatari sighed, trying to get his shuddering pulse under control, when Soujirou dug his fingers into his raw flesh again, eliciting a blood-curdling scream from the scythe-wielder. Kamatari stared back at him hatefully, one hand clutching the mess of tissue, bone and blood, trying to push it back under his skin.

"You damn hypocrite!" He spat. "You ran off with the Battousai, spouting nonsense about mercy and honor and ethical combat. Is this what he taught you, is _this_ your fucking ethical combat, you bastard!"

"No. It isn't. But I see no reason to be ethical with you. You are an old comrade sempai. You know me since very long. I was forged in the fire lit by Mister Shishio. My methods do not always correspond with Sensei's but he lets me be."

"How noble of him."

"Yes, it is." He sighed. "You are determined to be difficult sempai. Won't you tell me anything?"

Kamatari spat at him. Soujirou smirked. He stood, and looked down at Kamatari, who still clutched at his ribs with his left hand, his right hand lying flat on the ground, supporting his weight. Soujirou pulled his pocket-watch out, glanced at the five hands.

"Well, it's been wonderful catching up with you but I must be on my way now. I have a master to search for. Are you sure you don't want to tell me anything?" He batted his eyelashes innocently and stuck his lower lip out in an imitation of the pout he'd seen so many times on Kamatari's face before. The older man glared daggers at him and lifted his hand off the ground to make a rude gesture for a second before slamming it back on the ground. Soujirou smiled craftily. "Oh my. You're as feisty as ever." He turned, as though to leave. Kamatari breathed a sigh of relief. He'd die before he admitted it, but as far as he was concerned, Soujirou was the Prince of Darkness. The sooner he saw the last of him, was the better.

He was proven right, just a moment later when Soujirou pivoted on his foot to plunge a dagger into his hand, effectively nailing him to the ground. Kamatari bit back a scream. Soujirou's words lingered after he left, "Before you send somebody after me, I would suggest getting help for your wounds."

Soujirou slipped through the oak doors and ran lightly down the curving corridor until he reached some sort of lobby where at least four different doors led into winding corridors, one of them was the way out. He flicked his eyes from one to the other. Reaching a decision, he picked a door.

Minutes later, he was out on the streets, racing in the direction he hoped he would find his master.

X

It was cold and dark. She had never felt this cold before. It felt as though ice had seeped into her veins and her blood sluggishly slid down rivulets of ice frozen inside her body. Cold fingers clenched and grasped at her heart, making her gasp and shiver. And what had happened to the light? Why was it so dark? There wasn't a form, a shape, or a colour that she could make out. It was all dark, black. Oppressed by the funereal black of her surroundings, Kaoru tried to sit up, and was pulled back to the floor. She swore softly. She had to wake up. She spread a hand out to feel her vicinity. Her fingers brushed against the wooden side panel of a bed. She rolled to her side and pulled herself up to collapse on the bed. She panted. She felt worn and weary….why?

She groaned. She blinked and froze. Her eyes were open. But, she saw no light. She reached up her face and gently touched her eyes. Gasping, she pushed herself off the bed and stood. Walking with halting steps, she made her way to the table and stood straight. She flicked her fingers. Nothing happened. Still dark. She raised her hand and muttered an incantation. Still nothing. Now, panicking, Kaoru stumbled about, trying to reach her spell book.

Her fingers grasped the edges of the book and pulled it down with her to the floor. Turning the pages frantically, her hands shook and in her desperation, she screamed.

The shield covering the house fell away as the mental equilibrium of its bonded occupant was torn asunder. Saitoh witnessed the collapse of the shields with horror, his lips twisted into an angry snarl as he rushed inside. But nothing had prepared him for the sight of a limp, lifeless Kaoru lying spent and sedate on the floor.

He froze. His eyes darted around the room. Even though it was no longer present, the sheer magnetism and dynamism of the entity that had been here could be felt in the trailing remnants of his spirit force that had somehow been left behind and now bounced off the walls, as though struggling to find a way to escape. Saitoh glared at these wispy bits of light, torn between trapping one of them for investigation and picking up his student from the floor. He cursed under his breath, and knelt next to the unconscious girl. He tucked a hand under her shoulders and another under her knees and picked her up easily. Moving to the bed, he laid her down gently, brushed her bangs away from her face and sat down beside her. She was still breathing. Whatever it had been, hadn't killed her, but why?

Demons are the natural enemies of mages because they see magick as a mortal intrusion into a world where humans have little say and no power. Magick and those who wield it are threats to the existence and power of demons, for which they have always been bitter. Saitoh knew that no mage would willing interact with a demon, and if any demon were fortunate enough to stumble upon a mage whose guard was down, it would kill them. This was the natural order of things. He glanced at his student. She knew this. Then why, why would she allow a demon into her home? Why, why?

Saitoh stood. He painstakingly rolled his sleeves up. As he looked around, he noticed the bloodied bandages and the basin full of blood-coloured water. He frowned and glanced at Kaoru. The faint circles under her eyes became more pronounced. He reached to touch her ki with his, he blinked, shocked at how weak her ki felt, nowhere near its usual vitality and buoyancy. She was barely alive…and something was off about her. He couldn't out his finger on it but…some part of her seemed like it was missing, and some part of her felt as though it didn't belong to her. He drew a chair up and sat. Placing a hand on her forehead, he began to examine the damage.

X

Soujirou ran lightly up the hill where he could feel the pulsing ki of his master. He was angry, and with good reason. Soujioru smiled ruefully. If he had been flung, halfway across the town, he'd consider it pretty damn upsetting too. As he drew closer, the unrest and the anxiety curled off his master and floated out in great, giant waves. Soujirou burst upon the secluded meadow and looked around. Spotting his master, leaning against a tree, Soujirou jogged over to him and dropped down on one knee.

Something was wrong. He noticed it right away. He stood warily, looking him over, wondering what it was. He groaned inwardly even though the smile plastered on his face look spoke otherwise. Then, suddenly, it hit him.

"Sensei! Your wounds! How did you heal so fast?"

Silence.

"Sensei?"

Silence.

"Sensei….why won't you look at me?"

Kenshin rolled his eyes. He stepped out of the shadow of the tree and stood so that the tall grass and wildflowers brushed against his clothing. "Let's just go."

X

Saitoh's frown dug deeper as he slowly began to piece together pieces of the puzzle. He opened his eyes and glared at Kaoru. "How could you do something so dangerously stupid?"

**Author's Note**

Hello everyone! Hope everybody likes this chapter. Please comment.


	6. The Connection

**Summary**: While healing a wounded stranger, Kaoru unknowingly calls upon her essence to seal the injury, creating a spirit bond. But the amber-eyed demon lord she has just revived is in no mood to be saddled with a mortal female. KK. Dark-ish fic.

**Disclaimer**: Rurouni Kenshin and all its characters, events and places belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro.

**Rating**: T. To be safe, certain chapters will be marked as MATURE

Have I mentioned how much I love reading your reviews? All of you thank you so much! Give yourself a pat on the back and a standing ovation!

* * *

><p><strong>Dark Promises<strong>

**Chapter 5: The Connection**

**Recap**

Something was wrong. He noticed it right away. He stood warily, looking him over, wondering what it was. He groaned inwardly even though the smile plastered on his face look spoke otherwise. Then, suddenly, it hit him.

"Sensei! Your wounds! How did you heal so fast?"

Silence.

"Sensei?"

Silence.

"Sensei….why won't you look at me?"

Kenshin rolled his eyes. He stepped out of the shadow of the tree and stood so that the tall grass and wildflowers brushed against his clothing. "Let's just go."

**End of Recap**

Soujirou briskly strode along one of the many curving passages of his master's castle. He had spent the better part of the morning listening to Megumi rant at him for his inability to find out the reason for Lord Battousai's strange behaviour. 'He's your master! You should make it your business to find out if something's wrong with him. Who else is going to do it? He has to meet the delegates before they leave, and he can't do it if he refuses to speak! I don't care what you do. Just make him talk! ' It had been less than seven hours that they'd entered Miramar but already, Lord Battousai's absence from the meetings of the incumbent demon lords was giving rise to speculation. As he ascended a spiral staircase, he spotted a team of delegates from the north receiving a tour of the castle. He watched as they smiled at everything, their eyes flitting about, memorising the turns in the hallways.

Soujirou smirked. The visible structure of the castle constituted of merely a third of its total area. This portion had colourful red and white walls, accentuated by sloping, golden-shingled roofs that looked out towards a vast sea. Waves crashed incessantly against the stone cliffs that jutted out from the rock face supporting the castle. The rest of it spread across many miles inside the mountains; a dizzying weave of tunnels, stairs and rooms. Safe and secret from the world outside, few were aware of its existence. As far as most inhabitants of Miramar were concerned, the Lord Battousai presided over a charming little castle overlooking the restive seas that formed a natural boundary of their territory, facing the realm of the hostile shape-shifting water demons of the East.

Soujirou stopped to collect himself before venturing into his master's room. Pulling his watch out of his waistcoat pocket, he frowned as the five hands on the pearly dial whirled about distractedly, each in a separate rhythm. He pursed his lips together as the smallest hand, made in silver, trembled in its spot. He rapped his knuckles on the door. There was no response. Plastering a laidback smile on his face, Soujirou gently pushed the door open and looked around. His hand relaxed as the figure of his master came into view.

Himura Kenshin, better known as Lord Battousai, was sitting on the window seat. His elbow rested upon the sill and he stroked his chin thoughtfully. His hair hung around his face like a curtain; he had not tied it and he didn't even bother to push it out of his face. Soujirou felt his smile falter for a moment. It was strange to see his master look so bent out of form. He wasn't even trying to pretend like everything was normal. He hadn't uttered a word since they'd crossed the portal back into Miramar. The silence enveloping him was unnatural. He was thinking of something, and whatever it was he was thinking about, was worrying him. Soujirou watched silently as the older man clenched and unclenched his fists even as he stared blankly out of the window. It was not in Lord Battousai's nature to be very talkative anyway but he had never before been so silent. He had given distracted, monosyllabic replies to his questions and kept his face turned away for the entire journey back. Soujirou swallowed. His mouth felt dry. Get him to talk, Megumi had ordered him. And when Megumi told you to do something, you did it. No questions asked. That was just basic common sense. Glancing over at his master once more, Soujirou sensed that something had happened, and he had the strangest feeling that it had little to do with Shishio.

Soujirou cleared his throat. "Sensei?"

Kenshin turned his head a fraction of an inch away from the window, the only indication that he was listening. Soujirou stepped inside and walked across the room to the window. He bowed and sat cross-legged in front of Kenshin. "How are you feeling now, Sensei?"

Kenshin turned to him. He seemed surprised. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Instinctively, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Soujirou smiled weakly. "Well, actually….you see, Sensei….that's the problem."

Kenshin raised an eyebrow. Soujirou squirmed but continued to speak, "That wasn't an easy fight you had, yet you're fine. You have no injuries to speak of…but I was _there_ when you fought Shishio. I saw how badly you were injured, and that was even before he tossed you…er…I mean….threw you across Herat. But when I found you, it was as though nothing had happened. You were healed Sensei. There wasn't even a scratch on you. We both know that's not possible." He looked up. Kenshin was frowning. "Won't you tell me what happened?"

Kenshin stood. He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head slightly and walking out on to the terrace from where he could watch the turbulent waves crash against the cliffs below. His mind was like that restless sea; his thoughts tossed and turned around in his consciousness, without rest, without peace. If he closed his eyes, he saw her face and her shining eyes telling him that she would help him. A twinge of pain shot through his head and he winced as a tight, throbbing band of pain clamped around his head. His fingers dug into his scalp as he clenched his eyes shut and willed the pain to disappear. Strange images of a life he hadn't lived flashed through his mind. There was a child's laughter, flames dancing inside a palm, a graveyard on a rainy day, an empty corridor, a mirror that flew in a little house – random pieces of memories that didn't belong to him, tinged with feelings that were not his. An alien thread of fear wove into his being; a strange fear – terrible, unknown and unfamiliar. As the pain trickled away into nothingness and his breathing also slowed down, the avalanche of images and emotions also died away but not before he had realized that he was experiencing another person's thoughts as they raced through her mind. He swore under his breath. Crazy girl, what had she done to him?

His mind felt as though it belonged to someone else. He felt exposed, transparent and vulnerable in the only place that had offered him balance and equilibrium. The pristine order of his subconscious was rent apart and mutilated. In its place, he could feel the heavy, and complicated emotional mess of another person's making settle down like an unwanted guest.

He could feel Soujirou's eyes on him. He clasped his hands together behind his back. What could he say? Where was he supposed to begin? Explaining what had happened was only possible if he understood it himself, but he didn't. There was no understanding how a mere mortal possessed enough spirit power to revive and restore him. What did that make her? Was she mortal…or was she really a demon? But, he had felt her ki. It was the ki of a mortal, not that of a demon. She was a human - a simple… alright, a complicated human girl. She was powerful, insanely, inexplicably powerful; yes, that was the only explanation. Once every hundred or so, a mortal with immense spirit force was brought into the world, she was without a doubt, one such person. The fact that she was mage born was just a coincidence.

"Sensei?"

"Soujirou, if you cannot keep quiet for even two minutes, I suggest you get out, before I lose my temper." Kenshin growled back.

"A thousand apologies, Sensei."

Kenshin dragged his bottom lip under his teeth. That girl, she had no idea what she had taken from him or any idea what she had given him in return. If his hunch was correct, they both held a piece of each other. He closed his eyes. What had possessed him to offer up his mind, his _soul_ to a perfect stranger? Why had he done it? And why had she chosen to take _that_…couldn't she have picked something else? Knowledge, power, the intricate power of moulding fire even, she could have taken any of these things but instead she had chosen to pick a piece of him that he had buried away deep inside, a piece he had forgotten even existed, a piece of him that he would die to have returned, something that was just a bundle of useless sentimentality and clouded emotion – what purpose would that serve her? What a strange and troublesome woman. She had crawled under his skin and she now refused to disappear. He couldn't stop wondering – what possessed her to help a demon? She knew what the sentence was if she ever got caught. Someone must have felt the surge in spirit force when she had begun to heal him; he knew that because he remembered pulling her into his mind with the last shred of consciousness he had left. He used up his final reserves to determine if she meant any harm. But…far from feeling threatened, he had never felt so secure than when her ki brushed against his mind. It had felt so soft, so delicate, like something he might have imagined. But it had been real.

A cold thought snaked into his mind. What if they had found out? A chill ran down his spine. He had to go back. If only to see if she was alright, he _owed_ her that. It was the least he could do for her.

He glanced at Soujirou.

"I landed in the Academy." He said, finally deciding to speak. Soujirou would have to know. And he needed him to open the portal and run interference when he went back to see her. Kaoru Kamiya, he thought glibly, the things I do for you.

Soujirou looked up and blinked. His smile grew slightly wider. He raised an eyebrow as the words registered in his mind. "The Academy of the mages? How did you get out of there?"

"I had help."

Soujirou leaned forward interestedly. "What kind of help?"

"A mage." He ignored how his student's eyes seemed to jump out of his sockets. "By the time I landed, I was a mess. I didn't even have enough power to stand on my feet and walk away. There was…this girl, a mage. She healed me. And then I went and waited for you. And that's all that happened."

Soujirou stared back at him. He had the strangest feeling that he was getting a much abbreviated version of what had actually happened. "A girl healed you? All by herself?" He stared into space, too shocked for words. "But, why would she do that? No mage would willingly help a demon. Who would be foolish enough to risk that?"

Kenshin glared back at him. "I don't know."

Soujirou raised an eyebrow and let out a slow breath. He looked at his feet, sneaking glances at his master when he could. "She must have been very powerful."

"She was."

"I suppose we should be grateful." Soujirou ventured to say tentatively, keenly observing the play of subtle shadows on his master's face as he too thought about her.

"Indeed." Kenshin's response was a whisper, reluctantly pushed out of his mouth. He was uncomfortable and aware that it was showing. Clamping a tight rein over his emotions had never been a problem for the past two decades. That his control could be so easily pulverised was disturbing, not to mention terrifying. One encounter with this strange girl had left him reeling, laying bare his soul for her to plunder without a second thought. _Why_ had he done that? He had no answers; which was frightening. Not just because of what it meant to him, but also because he could now foresee the tongue-lashing he would receive from Shishou.

"Is this why you've been so..." Soujirou trailed off as he noticed his master staring at him very carefully. He swallowed and cleverly rephrased what he going to say, "I mean, it's natural for you to be so distant considering the circumstances." Kenshin merely raised an eyebrow and allowed the ghost of a smile to grace his lips. Soujirou seemed to be walking on eggshells around him. It was amusing. The thought made him stop and frown. Was this how he behaved around Hiko? Speaking of which…

"I asked you to send a letter to Shishou. Have you received a reply yet?"

"Not yet, Sensei." He coughed delicately, deciding to broach the subject of that evening's banquet with his master. "Anyway Sensei, about this evening. I was just with Lady Megumi and she thinks it's a good idea to read through the terms of the border treaty before we meet with the delegates." He pulled a thick sheaf of papers out of thin air, carefully placing it before him. Kenshin looked at the papers disinterestedly. He pushed them back towards Soujirou.

"We don't need them."

"But, you're the one who has to negotiate with them…" He replied weakly, staring helplessly at the little bundle of paper lying neglected and forgotten on the floor.

"Not anymore."

"I don't understand Sensei."

"Tell Megumi to find somebody else to do it. Ask Sanosuke. You and I will be busy this evening." Kenshin moved to his bureau and picked up a leather tie lying on the surface. He quickly gathered his hair together and secured it in a high ponytail at the back of his head. Soujirou watched his movements uncertainly. He laughed nervously.

"Surely you jest, Sensei?"

Kenshin turned to him, one eyebrow raised elegantly. "What in all our association leads you to believe I would joke about something like this?"

Soujirou clambered to his feet. "But Sensei, this is absurd. The banquet for our northern allies is tonight. Lord Shinji has already confirmed his presence. If we do not show…Lady Megumi will have me drawn and quartered."

Kenshin chuckled. "That woman scares you too much."

"That woman means business, Sensei." Soujirou shuddered involuntarily.

"Hmm, I really should tell her to get her kicks elsewhere."

"Will you?" Soujirou asked hopefully.

Kenshin looked at him. He smirked. "Now what would be the fun in that?"

Soujirou rolled his eyes. "We can't miss this banquet Sensei. We'd never hear the end of it."

Kenshin glanced at him. "Alright, we'll be fashionably late." He pointed towards a wakizashi placed on a stand behind Soujirou. Soujirou picked it up and handed it over. As Kenshin fastened it alongside a katana to his hip, he looked at his student, "Our task shouldn't take long. If all goes well, we'll be back in time for you to take a turn around the hall with a beautiful demoness or two. There, happy?"

Soujirou smiled in resignation. "It's not me I'm worried about. You're supposed to be here, taking turns around the ballroom with beautiful demonesses. Lady Megumi still hasn't given up on finding you a suitable and diplomatically sound match."

"Well, can't make things that easy for her, can we?"

"Sensei, pardon me if I speak out of turn but…can't this wait?"

Kenshin stared at his feet. He sighed before turning to face his student. Soujirou deserved to know what he was being dragged towards. If it was truly as he suspected, then he deserved to know the truth. "There's something I haven't told you, Soujirou."

Soujirou felt his heart sink into his boots. "What is it?"

"I fear…things may be worse. I think I may have gotten that girl into more trouble than I thought possible. If there is even the slightest chance that someone found out that she helped me, helped a demon, things may be very bad for her. I've wasted enough time, trying to make sense of it all but right now; I need to find out if she's alright." And the fact that his spirit may well be bound to this singularly intriguing and attractive mortal girl really had nothing to do with his sense of urgency.

"And if she's not?" Soujirou voiced his fears.

"I don't know, Soujirou. I...guess...i'll have to think of something."

A/N

Please comment.


	7. Howl

**Summary**: While healing a wounded stranger, Kaoru unknowingly calls upon her essence to seal the injury, creating a spirit bond. But the amber-eyed demon lord she has just revived is in no mood to be saddled with a mortal female. KK. Dark-ish fic.

**Disclaimer**: Rurouni Kenshin and all its characters, events and places belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro.

**Rating**: T. To be safe, certain chapters will be marked as MATURE

Have I mentioned how much I love reading your reviews? All of you thank you so much!

Thank you Ayla27, mrgimjaw, kenjutsu2Princess, mandy111,

moonlightrurouni - Wow, you managed the impossible, sent me the same review for the same chapter. Go girl! And sorry, this Shinji isn't cool like Hirako (love him!) This one is a b***ard.

skenshingumi - Actually, I love writing a mischievous Kenshin. I know what a tortured and sad soul he really is in the canon but I feel since this is fanfiction, I should write him as I wished to see him - happy, confident and not always dwelling on the things he's done. And the same goes for Soujirou. They both have such hard, sad lives that whenever I get the chance I try and give them something to feel happy about. If Kenshin and Soujioru really were Master and Apprentice, this is how I would imagine them. Kenshin, slightly domineering yet playful. The bond he shares with Soujirou in this fic is more friendly and they're like a big brother-little brother team, as you shall see in coming chapters.

Bonghi - Wow, ravyn, that is mighty praise. I am a rabid Ravyn fangirl myself so...THANK YOU!

laylay - Thank you thank you, I always aspire to please.

ichikokitsuneKoumori - Soujirou is a lifesaver.

The track "Howl" by florence and the Machine is mandatory listening for this chapter. It's about as important as the title sequence for this fic. :D

* * *

><p><strong>Dark Promises<strong>

**Chapter 6: Howl**

If you could only see the beast you've made of me  
>I held it in but now it seems you've set it running free<br>Screaming in the dark, I howl when we're apart  
>drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart<p>

My fingers claw your skin, try to tear my way in  
>You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to howl<br>My fingers claw your skin, try to tear my way in  
>You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to<p>

Howl, howl  
>Howl, howl<p>

(Florence and the Machine)

**Recap**

"Sensei, pardon me if I speak out of turn but…can't this wait?"

Kenshin stared at his feet. He sighed before turning to face his student. Soujirou deserved to know what he was being dragged towards. If it was truly as he suspected, then he deserved to know the truth. "There's something I haven't told you, Soujirou."

Soujirou felt his heart sink into his boots. "What is it?"

"I fear…things may be worse. I think I may have gotten that girl into more trouble than I thought possible. If there is even the slightest chance that someone found out that she helped me, helped a demon, things may be very bad for her. I've wasted enough time, trying to make sense of it all but right now; I need to find out if she's alright." And the fact that his spirit may well be bound to this singularly intriguing and attractive mortal girl really had nothing to do with his sense of urgency.

"And if she's not?" Soujirou voiced his fears.

"I don't know, Soujirou. I guess I'll have to do something about it."

**End of Recap**

Kaoru shuddered violently. Saitoh sat up in alarm. Kaoru hadn't opened her eyes even once since he'd been there. She trembled now. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks and her lips parted in a voiceless cry. Saitoh hesitantly took her hand in his and squeezed it slightly. She froze and clutched his hand, shaking her head, trying to make the images behind her eyelids disappear.

So much pain….no wonder the demon had locked this part of his memories away. There was a reason Kaoru was called a genius. Within hours of being suspended in a silent stasis where she could hear nothing, see nothing, she had understood that her dark prison was nothing more than the piece of soul she had taken from the demon. It seemed that he had pushed all his sorrow and pain into this tiny piece of his mind, locking it away. He had probably wanted to be rid of these memories so he had buried them deep in the recesses of his mind, thinking that he would never have to revisit them. But here she was, trapped with them inside her head. And there was no way out. She had been struggling to break out of the demon's memories but the barriers he had erected around them were simply too powerful for her to break. It was strange; she had little trouble getting flung in here but now that she wanted to escape, it would not let her. Kaoru curled on her side, trying to shield herself from the renewed onslaught of memories that hit her; a flame-haired boy standing in a field filled with dead bodies, a beautiful woman with a sword running through her neck, the eyes glassy and glazed over, a wall of fire sweeping across the sky, villages pillaged and burned and endless rivers of blood.

Kaoru whimpered. Saitoh frowned. Her bangs clung to the sides of her sweat-streaked face. Saitoh pushed them back, lifted her and shook her shoulders vigorously, trying to rouse her from yet another terrifying nightmare. He bit his lip in frustration. Kaoru curled away from him, quietly shaking her head, moving her lips constantly, even though no sound emerged. She tangled her fingers into the bed sheets, crying piteously. Little by little, the sounds of her crying died away, as she fell into slumber, unable to emerge from her miserable cage yet too exhausted by crying to even be conscious of what dreams would invade her mind now.

Saitoh shook with rage. The fiend responsible for this….he would tear him apart limb to limb. He stood abruptly; making his chair clatter noisily on the floor. He swept his eyes around the room, looking for something, anything that would help him to pass the time while he waited for his wayward student to wake. Kamiya had always been a strange one; far too inquisitive for her good, stubborn as an ox, quick to anger but also quick to forgive and forget. She had an unusually and unnecessarily kind heart and he knew it was probably what had gotten her in trouble. He was not unaware of her fascination for demons and their unnatural magic. He shook his head ruefully as he remembered the special visit to the prison organised for all aspiring Defence cadets last semester. She had been mortified - not at the heinousness of the crimes committed by captured demons but at their treatment at the hands of the Academy. It had taken his deadliest scowl _and_ a silence spell to quiet her down.

Saitoh smirked. How juvenile and what an incredible waste of talent. Talent and power such as Kamiya emerged once in decades, centuries even, but her soft approach to the demon problem was not winning her any points with the Academy. She didn't realize how vicious and dangerous demons truly were. They hid under the façade of their illusions, and their elemental magic, always waiting and watching for an opportunity to strike. Demons had no honour and they followed no rules. They were ruthless predators who would gnaw through the fabric of mortal society if given even half a chance. But never in his wildest imagination had he thought that his student would be trapped in a cage of a demon's making. Once he found him, he would destroy him.

X

Kaoru tossed and turned. Her mind whirled about in a limbo between consciousness and deep slumber. Her body seemed to submerge in liquid fire and ice cold water alternately. Her nails dug into the palms of her fists, leaving little red crescent moons behind on the pristine skin of her palms.

"When are you going to calm down?" A soft voice spoke from within the confines of her mind. Kaoru stilled. She reached for the voice, stretching in the direction she thought it had come from. She froze as she realized where it was leading her. Her feet were suddenly swathed in chains. Her torso pulled down to the ground. Her cheek touched the rough earth of the field and she looked around wearily. Row upon row of graves spread out over many leagues and in the middle of them, a slight young boy with flame-coloured hair and gleaming amethyst eyes sat on an upturned boulder, staring down at her curiously. He wore no shirt and his hakama were dirty at the knees, as though he'd been kneeling on the ground for a very long time.

Kaoru shut her eyes. The red hair and the unusual eyes seemed familiar; if she wasn't mistaken, than this child was the demon she had revived. "Please get me out of here."

The boy straightened up. "It's not so bad anymore. It's been worse." He spoke in a whisper. He swung his foot about in the dirt, creating a depression in the ground. "You need to calm down."

"How am I supposed to calm down? Have you seen what's going on?" She asked desperately.

"I have lived it." Kaoru stared at him. "Please….just stop crying. I…don't want to see you cry anymore. It hurts."

Kaoru lifted herself off the ground to a sitting position. "There's too much dying, too much killing. Why?"

The boy was quiet. He blinked and looked at her strangely. "Are you unfamiliar with death?"

"What?"

"All beings die, some more violently than others. Sometimes, death is unjust, cruel, even merciless…"

"I know that!" She cut in. The boy looked slightly annoyed. She felt her shoulders slump in defeat. "But, why? I think I know who you are, but what of the others? Who is that lady? And those villages, why were they burning….and why is the sky on fire? Tell me something, _anything_…so I can stop spinning in circles."

The boy smiled and began to blur at the edges. Kaoru gasped as his image began to flutter and fade. She reached out to catch him, to stop him from disintegrating but he disappeared as soon as her fingertips touched him. Kaoru pulled back. Tiny beads of light began to regroup in the space where he'd been sitting just a second ago. Faster and faster, little spots of light grew denser and heavier until a figure began to take shape. Kaoru held her breath as once again, flame coloured hair and this time, amber eyes appeared before her.

The telltale smirk and the confident, almost deadly grace with which he moved alerted her that the complex entity whose mind she had stupidly barged into had metamorphosed again. "Ah….little girl, we meet again." The demon smiled, watching her closely, eyes lingering over her body. His perusal was discreet yet not subtle enough to go unnoticed. Kaoru bristled.

"You….you were here just a second ago! Why did you change?"

"Was I?"

"I mean…yes, that boy…he must have been you…but only as a boy, you know…but how did you…. what on earth is going on?" She held her head in her hands. The demon ducked and peered into her face. He seemed to have no comprehension of the concept of spatial privacy. She skittered away from him. He seemed amused.

"You are frightened."

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Kaoru sneered back at him.

"No. Merely an observation."

"Well, stop making inane observations and tell me what's going on! What is this place? And why can't I get out of it?"

The demon smiled. "All very relevant questions, and I have some of my own. This, as I am sure you have guessed, is a part of me." Kaoru waited.

"And?"

"And you'll have to wait until I come to you to know the rest."

"You are here now."

He chuckled warmly, sending little darts shooting inside her chest, constricting her throat. She gulped. Her preoccupation with his memories had led to forget just how dangerous he could be. But seeing him now, not a two feet away from her, she remembered. Dangerous. Very dangerous to her. "No. This is merely an imitation of my image that was captured in your mind. It is everything that you know about me, and no more." Her forehead crinkled in puzzlement. He continued to speak. "If you were to ask me my name, I could not tell you because you do not know it yet."

"If that's the case, why did I see that little boy? I've never seen him before." She pointed out in confusion.

"That boy is a piece of my past. A piece you so thoughtlessly picked up, but who he is, why he's here, and what's going to happen to him – only I can tell you that, if I so choose." He answered smugly.

"But….wait a minute…you said I should wait until you come to me…does that mean you…the real you…knows what's happening to me?" Kaoru turned her face up to him.

"I should hope so." He laughed softly at her stricken face. "Don't worry. I probably have realized what happened by now. I should be on my way."

For some strange, incomprehensible reason, the idea that he was on the way to see her, that she would once more be in contact with him, sent a thrill through her heart. She swallowed thickly. The demon raised an eyebrow and smiled as though he'd been let in on a secret he'd been after. Kaoru clamped the bubbling sensation in her chest down with stolid practicality. "And when you come, you will bring me out of here, won't you?"

His eyes seemed to gleam. "It remains to be seen."

Kaoru sighed exasperatedly. "Can't you tell me for sure?"

"At the risk of repeating myself – I only know what you know. If you do not know for certain that I will take you out of here, how can I possibly give you any answer?"

Kaoru wrapped her arms around her chest and sighed. "I'm sick of this place."

The demon settled down beside her. "I know. There is a reason I keep it hidden away. It tends to wear you down"

"I'm tired."

"Yes." He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear casually; as though it was something he did everyday.

"I really, really want to sleep."

"That is to be expected."

"I want…." She let her head fall onto her knees.

His voice was surprisingly soft. "What do you want, Kaoru?"

She sniffed and rubbed her nose against her knee. "I want to feel safe again."

The demon was silent. "I wish you had listened to me."

"When?"

"When I told you to leave."

"I wouldn't have left."

"Yes, I realize that."

"No, I mean, if I had a chance to do it over, I still wouldn't have left." Kaoru wrapped her arms around her chest and settled her head on her knees. She closed her eyes, desperate for rest. The demon remained seated a foot away from her, his eyes glowing with an unearthly light as he watched her.

X

Misao tore the flyer straight off the notice board. She read quickly, eyes widening in fear and alarm. Quickly, she looked around and pulled off any copies she saw stuck on the walls. Stuffing the fliers in her bag, she straightened and raced through the courtyard, down the stairs and out on the street, heading for Kaoru's house. She pursed her lips. Signs had been put up here as well. The Council was taking no chances. People were stopping to read and discuss the news. As she turned into Kaoru's street, she noticed a team of red-cloaked cadets from Defence standing across the street from Kaoru's house, trying to appear casual. Another team was stationed at the other end of the street. Misao swore softly under her breath. Lifting her chin in determination, she pivoted to the right, sneaking into the back alley. At the end of the alley, sure enough, there were more mages waiting. She swore and quickly changed course. She climbed an old brick wall and crawled along till it touched Kaoru's back garden wall. Misao swung her legs over and dropped silently into the garden. Getting down on her hands and feet, she quickly crawled through the knee high grass growing in her friend's back garden, for once happy that Kaoru never seemed to get around to cutting the grass.

Sidling next to the door, she muttered a quick incantation and slipped inside. Misao stopped to catch her breath and promptly jumped.

"Breaking and entering is a serious offence, Makimachi." Master Saitoh's dry voice greeted her. Misao clamped a hand to her chest, and shook her head slightly.

"You _scared_ me Master Saitoh. How did you even know I was here?"

"Yes. Contrary to your fondest belief Makimachi, you do not move as quietly as shadow. I could hear you bumbling around the garden from the upstairs hallway." He replied with disdain.

Misao tried not to scowl but didn't succeed. The sight of Master Saitoh's smirking, superior face made her sour mood worse. "Master Saitoh, pardon me if I seem rude. What are you doing here?"

"Actually, I should be asking you that."

"No, you really shouldn't. This is Kaoru's house and I am her best friend. I have every right to be here. What are _you_ doing here?" She pointed her forefinger at him affrontingly.

"I fail to see how it's any of your business. Did you need anything?"

Misao curled her fingers into fists and shook with impotent anger. She gnashed her teeth. "Yes, I need Kaoru. So if you'll excuse me I'll just find her and be out of your way." She stepped around him and began to march upstairs.

Saitoh grabbed her elbow and whirled her back, pulling her two steps down to where she'd been standing seconds ago. "You can't go upstairs."

Misao shook him off aggressively. "What? Alright, this is enough. Master Saitoh, I know you're Kaoru's mentor and everything but you have no right to stop me from seeing her. I mean, your authority over Kaoru ends in the Academy so I don't even know what you're doing here. You have no business being here so stop telling me what to do."

"Marvellous display Makimachi. It doesn't move me though. And as to my authority, perhaps you are unaware and I suspect Kamiya never informed you, I am her legal guardian. I was appointed by her father. So you see Makimachi, the only one who is going to be leaving this house, is you."

Misao stared at him in shock. "You're her legal guardian…"

"Yes." Saitoh looked smug, pleased that he'd finally managed to stun the little weasel into silence. The question was, for how long though?

Misao narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "That's the first I've ever heard of it. How do I know you're not lying?"

"You don't. What are you going to do about it?" Saitoh challenged. Misao gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

She sputtered. "You can't do that."

"Watch me."

Misao sighed. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. She decided to risk it and lay her cards in front of him. As things were, he might be Kaoru's only hope of getting out of the mess she was in. Chances were he was here for the same reason she was.

"This is getting us nowhere." She sighed. "Master Saitoh, you are the last person I want to fight right now. This is serious. There're all kinds of outlandish rumours floating around the academy about Kaoru. And what's more, the idiots have issued a summons for her; failing to appear will put her on the wanted list. It's crazy!" She pulled a stack of fliers out of her bag and showed them to him. Saitoh carefully read them.

Misao continued to rant, "It says she's wanted for questioning for some heinous crime against Herat. That's garbage! I mean, what heinous crime could Kaoru do? She's the nicest person I know. She loves Herat. I mean, she's a total angel."

Saitoh was quiet. So, they knew. And the only reason why they hadn't yet burst in and collected her was probably him. He had put Nadir on edge the last time they had spoke so the Council was now proceeding with caution. Did that mean he was under suspicion as well? It was very likely. His protectiveness regarding Kaoru had not gone unnoticed. The fact that she listened to him despite the fact that she possessed the power to finish him if she only channelled it made his situation look very bleak. Saitoh glanced at Misao, who hadn't paused to even breathe. "…..last I met her, she mentioned that strange girl we found on campus and she did say it was strange that nobody was allowed near her but anyway, what do you think could have happened?"

Saitoh dropped the fliers on a hall table. He turned and beckoned Misao to follow him. "Come with me."

X

Misao shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes. "No! There has to be some sort of mistake. Kaoru would never do something like that."

"There is no other explanation."

"So this is what you came up with? This is ridiculous! She knows nothing about healing demons. How could she? She's never seen a demon in her life!" Misao stamped her foot in frustration. She couldn't believe what was happening. Master Saitoh had brought her upstairs to an unconscious Kaoru, and the remnants of a presence in the room. The air felt oppressive with the power and force of unidentified spirit energy. It felt like nothing she had ever experienced before. Goosebumps covered her skin. She glanced at Kaoru. Could Kaoru heal a demon? Would Kaoru have the power to do so? Perhaps. But would she actually heal a demon? She knew it was against the laws of Herat. Demons were…evil. Everyone knew that. They would kill or fatally maim any mage if they could. No, Kaoru wouldn't do something so stupid. Even considering her curiosity and benevolence, she wouldn't….she wouldn't.

Saitoh traced his eyebrow with his forefinger. "Getting upset is not going to help the situation. We have to think carefully. The Council suspects me of complicity, or shielding Kaoru at the very least. The only reason why this house isn't already swarming with investigative teams is because they will have a hard time justifying the sudden incarceration of a Black and a legacy. But, they will make a move soon. We have to be ready before them. We have to wake her up before they get here."

Misao rubbed the muscles of her lower neck, "How are we going to do that?"

"I have an idea." He grimaced. "But it's dangerous and the chances of success are very slim."

Misao nodded. "I understand. We'll be careful. What's the plan?"

Saitoh sighed. "This house is bound to Kaoru. So we use it to get to her."

Misao raised an eyebrow sceptically. "So, what you're saying is that if we try and burn the kitchen down or something….Kaoru will wake up to save the house?"

"Yes."

They both glanced at Kaoru, silently wondering if even this would rouse her. Or would they be running for their lives in a burning house because its bonded owner was trapped in a mental prison they could neither see nor feel.

X

They made their way down to the kitchen quietly. There was really nothing to be said. Misao looked pensive. Her thoughts were racing a mile a minute in her head. This morning, when Kaoru hadn't shown up at the Academy, she'd been concerned but had thought that maybe she was just being lazy. After all, despite getting the Black, she was really just a glorified librarian, with occasional access to the forbidden scrolls of Herat, which she could not open without Master Saitoh breathing down her neck. It was easy to get annoyed by it all. She'd never thought that she would ever be in a situation where she would be standing next to Master Saitoh in Kaoru's kitchen, thinking of the best way to get the biggest fire going.

Misao gasped suddenly. "Oh no, Master Saitoh I completely forgot to tell you!"

A nerve twitched in Saitoh's forehead. "What?"

"There are at least three Defence teams waiting outside."

Saitoh stopped and turned to look at her. "Three teams?" Misao nodded. He frowned. "Alright, three is not so bad. They won't be expecting any resistance. These are probably just rookies, fresh graduates. It'll be alright. The house won't let them in. It repels opening spells."

Misao looked worried. "It does? Are you sure?"

Saitoh shrugged. "Yes. That's a primary function of a bonded house. It only accepts spells cast by its master."

Misao blinked. "Well, that's strange."

Saitoh froze. "Why?"

"How do you think I got inside? For that matter, how did you get inside?"

A chill raced down Saitoh's spine and he stared at Misao. He remembered. Last night, he had felt Kaoru's spirit force melded with the spirit energy of a demon. The cataclysm of ki had shattered violently in waves, following which he had rushed to the house but only managed to force his way in when the demon ki had all but disappeared, leaving a weak and drained Kaoru in its wake. "I used an incantation….this can only mean….the bond she had with this house is broken." He whispered.

X

Soujirou nibbled on his lip absent-mindedly as he hurriedly flipped pages on an ancient tome. He glanced at his master every now and then. Lord Battousai was steering the lightboat they sat upon carefully towards a secluded atoll south of his castle, where the fire demons guarded what was possibly the last remaining portal into the mortal realm. The others had been destroyed in the century long war between demons and mortals, leading to the eventual exile of all mortals from Miramar and the beginning of the deadliest blood-feud between the two races.

"Find anything?"

Soujirou sighed and shook his head. "I've read hundreds of accounts of creation of spirit bonds but so far, there's nothing like what you described Sensei. Spirit bonds are hard to come by even amongst demons so a bond between a mortal and a demon is even rarer."

Kenshin turned away. "Keep looking."

"Yes, Sensei." Soujirou bent over the tome again. "Are you sure it's a spirit bond?"

Kenshin scowled. "What else could it be? She has part of my memories, I have a part of hers. There are things I feel like I have lived through that I have no recollection of. What could it mean?" Soujirou sighed.

Suddenly he sat straight. " Sensei, I…I think I've found something. There're two accounts here, of bonds between mortals and demons. The first…was created by a fire demon named Jed. During the first Demon War, his village was burned by the human general of the shape shifters. In revenge, he…kidnapped the general's daughter and forcibly bound her spirit to his own." Soujirou stopped.

Kenshin turned to look at him. "Go on. What happened after that?"

Soujirou looked at him hesitantly. "She died….of grief. It says here that her spirit wasn't strong enough to battle Jed's demonic ki. He ultimately ended up devouring her spirit. She died soulless."

Kenshin clenched his fist. "And the second account?"

Soujirou shook his head. "A demon lady forged a spirit bond with her childhood friend who was a mortal, hoping that her power would give him an extended life." He cleared his throat. "The mortal did not survive the bond; again, the gulf between their spirit force crushed him." He shut the book. "I'm sorry Sensei."

Kenshin was silent. The leaden guilt pulling at his feet grew heavier. Would Kaoru Kamiya's act of kindness and good faith lead to her undoing? He hoped not.

A flash of red swept across the sky. Soujirou let out a cry of surprise and delight. Kenshin too looked up and smiled as the guardian of the portal swept away the mist surrounding the atoll with one flick of a reddish gold foretalon. He stretched lazily, the crimson scales on his wings gleaming in the light of the setting sun, his whiskers curling elegantly around his mouth and his torso, resting heavily on the beach.

The lightboat ran onto the crisp cream-coloured sand of the beach. Soujirou shot out of the boat like an arrow, racing towards the majestic beast that lay on the shore. Kenshin stepped out, shaking his head in amusement.

"It has been a while, Kenshin." He spoke, his voice as soft as thunder.

"Too long, Agni."

X

**Author's Note**

Hello everyone,

I'm moving this story along at a faster pace than my usual. Hoping to finish it within the next couple of months. Everyone who sent me words of encouragement during my writer's block – Thank you! It was really wonderful to have so many people pushing me and supporting me. I hope that you like this instalment of Dark Promises. Please comment and let me know what you think of it.

Agni – means 'Fire' in Hindi. I thought it was fitting since he is a dragon. Almost all place names used in this story are real and are from the state of Goa in India. I love the names of towns there so I robbed them for this fic. Here's more, you might be seeing these in the course of the fic as well - Miramar, Calangute, Baga, Varca, Majorda, Vagator...lovely!

More about Agni, fire demons, and Miramar next time. Also on the agenda for next time – Kenshin and Saitoh face off and some dearly-missed Ken-Kao interaction. Stay tuned! Haha. Always wanted to say that.


	8. Descent

**Summary**: While healing a wounded stranger, Kaoru unknowingly calls upon her essence to seal the injury, creating a spirit bond. But the amber-eyed demon lord she has just revived is in no mood to be saddled with a mortal female. KK. Dark-ish fic.

**Disclaimer**: Rurouni Kenshin and all its characters, events and places belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro.

**Rating**: T. To be safe, certain chapters will be marked as MATURE

* * *

><p>Dark Promises<p>

Chapter 7: Descent

**Recap**

Soujirou shook his head. "A demon lady forged a spirit bond with her childhood friend who was a mortal, hoping that her power would give him an extended life." He cleared his throat. "The mortal did not survive the bond; again, the gulf between their spirit force crushed him." He shut the book. "I'm sorry Sensei."

Kenshin was silent. The leaden guilt pulling at his feet grew heavier. Would Kaoru Kamiya's act of kindness and good faith lead to her undoing? He hoped not.

A flash of red swept across the sky. Soujirou let out a cry of surprise and delight. Kenshin too looked up and smiled as the guardian of the portal swept away the mist surrounding the atoll with one flick of a reddish gold foretalon. He stretched lazily, the crimson scales on his wings gleaming in the light of the setting sun, his whiskers curling elegantly around his mouth and his torso, resting heavily on the beach.

The light boat ran onto the crisp cream-coloured sand of the beach. Soujirou shot out of the boat like an arrow, racing towards the majestic beast that lay on the shore. Kenshin stepped out, shaking his head in amusement.

"It has been a while, Kenshin." He spoke, his voice as soft as thunder.

"Too long, Agni."

**End of Recap**

"Your student is as frivolous as ever." Agni swatted Soujirou lightly with his tail, stopping him from fiddling with his whiskers. Soujirou had the good sense to look sheepish and sidle away. Agni watched him as he threw a net of energy around the boat and pulled it higher up onto the beach, away from the luring waves of the sea. The great dragon smiled benignly and turned to face the demon lord standing before him.

Kenshin's lips curved upward in a smile. He bowed his head and sank onto the sand beside Agni, leaning back upon his arms as he kept one eye on Soujirou. His eyes travelled down the length of the wild, untamed beach where the guardian of Miramar's skies made his domain. Agni's island lay upon the cusp of the shape shifters' realm and the lands of the fire demons. A hundred years ago, he had watched the sky burn from this very beach. He closed his eyes. An involuntary shudder escaped his lips and he clenched his fists tightly. It had taken a revered dragon, a lord of fire to stop the madness that war had become.

Kenshin bit the inside of his cheek. As much as he loved and revered Agni, it was not easy to come here and look into the past and recognise himself in the crazed demon lord driven mad by bloodlust. It was not easy to look upon the evil he had created by letting his anger loose then – it was a mistake he was still paying for.

The dragon continued to watch the apprentice even as the master sifted through his cobwebby thoughts and gathered the will to speak. Finally, Agni glanced towards Kenshin, pride gleaming in his deep, golden eyes, "You have done well by this child, Kenshin."

Kenshin bowed his head once more, before looking up. Although, it was high praise, coming from Agni, Kenshin could not help but feel his ki descend into turmoil once more as the glaring mistakes of his past flashed before his eyes. It was difficult to forget what he had done, especially in this place, on the shores of the emerald sea belonging to the shape shifters.

He shook his head slightly and lifted his shoulder in a nervous shrug, not knowing what to do with Agni's approval. "I did… what I had to." His voice faltered. He shut his eyes, willing the ghostly screams of seasons past to fade away.

Kenshin took a deep breath. "I did the only things I knew how to do. It was for Soujirou to decide what he had to become. I merely pointed him in the direction I hoped he would take." He paused to look at his apprentice, watching as he stopped suddenly, perhaps enthralled by the silent songs of the waves. "He has come a long way and I am very proud of him."

Agni nodded, his red-golden whiskers sweeping the sand as his head moved. "And yet, your soul is in turmoil and you seem very different to me – " He whispered, peering at him curiously. His eyes grew wide and he suddenly turned and stared at him. A slow smile stretched across his lips and he smirked. "Well, well, what's _this_, Kenshin?"

Kenshin looked away. The heat burning in the dragon's eyes seemed to sear his skin. He cleared his throat. "I don't know. I have an idea but I am not sure of it." He bit his lip. "You can tell though, can't you? Something's wrong with me."

A low rumble shook the beach. Soujirou looked back towards them in alarm, and Kenshin resisted the impulse to brace himself. He merely sat stiffly until Agni stopped laughing. "Oh Kenshin," The dragon rolled till he lay on his side, exposing his soft underbelly to Kenshin – a measure of the deep trust the dragon had in him. "You truly have no idea what happened, do you?"

A nerve twitched on his forehead and Kenshin frowned. "I have some idea. I just want to know what to do about it." He blinked. "_Can_ I do something about it?"

Agni chuckled. Further along the beach, Soujirou felt the tiny hairs on his neck stand on end as his skin prickled with the vibrations the sound produced. "I'm not entirely sure I understand. You allowed a mortal to bind her spirit to yours." He looked Kenshin straight in the eye. Kenshin suppressed the urge to swallow and look away, settling for dragging his lips under his teeth.

Agni snorted. "And now, you are having sleepless nights wondering what to do about it or knowing you, how to get rid of it"

Kenshin frowned and looked away. The annoyance – mostly aimed at himself, because he had been unimaginably stupid – he'd kept at bay for the greater part of a night and day finally escaping his control. "Am I to be blamed if I do not want to be saddled with – whatever this connection is – with a mortal?"

Agni yawned. "Perhaps you should have thought of that before it happened."

Kenshin clicked his tongue against his teeth in annoyance. It was not so much what Agni was saying – he'd told that to himself a million times over the past day – but the way he said made him feel as though he were a brainless dolt with no sense. "That is not how it happened. Agni, I had no idea she would - forget that! - I had no idea she was even capable of doing something like this! Do you think I would have allowed it if I had any idea this would happen?"

Agni stretched, rubbing his belly deeper into the sand, "You made a mistake Kenshin. You must face the consequences. There is no getting away from it." The amused merriment faded away from his eyes and he looked stern. "You have pulled that girl into our world, and now you must protect her within it." Kenshin returned his gaze steadily. He nodded once and pushed his palm down into the sand. Pushing away with his hand, he rose in one fluid motion and called to Soujirou.

Agni did not move. He remained still, his golden eyes watching the play of the pink beams of ageing sunlight upon the pristine blue-green sea. As Kenshin turned to leave, he lifted his head. "Kenshin."

The demon lord stopped. He turned his head slightly, a slight frown settled upon his forehead.

"A spirit bond is not to be trifled with. If you do not honour it, the mortal will die." Agni turned his head a mere fraction towards him. Kenshin felt like a child each time he faced Agni, but this time was different. Agni was displeased. "And if that happens, I will be forced to avenge the loss of her spirit."

A chill settled in the base of his spine as the words sunk into his mind. Kenshin bent his head and swiftly strode down the beach to where Soujirou waited, ready to open the portal to the mortal realm. Agni never minced words. It probably came of being the most powerful and ancient magical entity that existed in Miramar. There were other dragons, but none had been seen in close to two hundred years. Agni commanded a fiefdom both large and varied; fire demons, shape shifters, water demons, everything that lived and breathed in Miramar had sworn fealty to him and his word was never ignored.

According to Agni, Kamiya Kaoru was now his responsibility. A memory of brilliant blue eyes flashed in his mind. _What sort of girl do you think I am? I'm not some idiotic, man-crazy, hormone-driven idiot. I am a genius! _Kenshin sighed. He wondered how that would go down with her.

X

Misao slumped in her chair. Her eyes were red-rimmed and strands of hair that had escaped from her braid stuck to the back of her neck with sweat. She watched silently as Master Saitoh paced about furiously. He hadn't uttered a word since they'd had the revelation that the house may not be bonded to Kaoru anymore. He would stop and stare at Kaoru every few minutes, then resume his frenetic pacing. She hissed softly. She didn't know how much of this she could take. Master Saitoh's frowning and scowling made the atmosphere twice as oppressive and heavy. She took a deep breath.

Misao dug her fingers into her hair as she wearily rested her head in her hands. She didn't know what they were going to do now. The only chance they had of waking Kaoru was lost.

She blinked back a fresh onslaught of tears. Sniffing loudly, she sat up and leaned forward in her chair. Reaching out with her hand, she brushed her fingers against Kaoru's cheek. _Kaoru, come back_.

X

The ends of Saitoh's cloak snapped and twirled as he turned and paced. His lip curled with anger and frustration. He glanced at the prone figure of his student and fought the fresh wave of fury that threatened to engulf him. Clenching his fists, he stopped in front of Kamiya and glared at her. If only she had learned to listen and obey rules she wouldn't be in this situation and he wouldn't be fighting to restore his calm. Why was it so hard for her to simply do as she was told? Why couldn't she simply let certain things be! Why show mercy to a _demon_ of all things?

He was about turn away when a sudden movement arrested his attention. His eyes grew wide suddenly. She moved! Saitoh grabbed a stool and pulled it up to the bed. He snapped his fingers at Misao, who shot out of her chair and was beside him in a flash. They waited.

Kaoru whimpered, but her eyes remained close. Her lips moved, as though she was speaking. Saitoh watched the movement of her lips carefully, trying to understand what she was saying. She repeated a few motions over and over. He frowned as he recognised them to be rudimentary motions enunciating a name. But whose name? Could it be the name of the demon that had drained her spirit force?

Kaoru's fingers clenched in the sheets and her wrists twisted as she pulled upon them with excessive force. Her legs thrashed as though she was in great pain and she gasped for air. Misao pushed her legs down before she thrashed them again. Placing a hand on each knee, the smaller girl kept a tight hold on Kaoru, alarmed by the erratic twitching of her friend's unconscious body. Misao looked up. Her eyes were wide with fear and alarm.

"Master Saitoh, what's happening to her?" Saitoh made no move to suggest he had even heard her. He stood and stared out of the window. Misao followed his eyes but she did not have the experience to know what to look for.

"Master Saitoh?" Misao asked tentatively. He was staring at something fixatedly.

"Makimachi." Misao looked at him, her braid whipping around her neck. Saitoh had shed his cloak. In his hand, he now held a sheathed katana. The sheath was pure ebony and it made no sound as its master twisted it loose with a flick of his fingers. Saitoh kept his back straight and his eyes on the dusty sky outside. The deep rumble of storm clouds on the horizon covered the minute fluctuating of the air, but nothing a master mage like Saitoh would miss.

"Yes." Misao berated herself for sounding so breathy and out of sorts. She was a mage, damn it! She sat straighter, cleared her throat and repeated, "Yes." This time her words did not tremble and her eyes did not waver.

"You are not to leave Kamiya's side, no matter what happens, or who appears through that door." He gave her a sidelong look. "Do you understand?"

"I understand, Master Saitoh." Misao nodded once, determination coursing through her veins. I will not leave, not even if the demon that did this comes through that door. I will stand firm and I will not be scared. Misao turned to Kaoru and repeated that promise over and over in her head. She did not hear Master Saitoh's next words.

"I will not let anything happen to you Makimachi. But you must not fail me in this."

X

"- you must not fail me in this." Saitou took a few steps forward and came to a standstill in the centre of the room. Behind him, Makimachi had begun casting several complicated shield charms around the figure of her friend. The charms were not remarkable in their strength but they were layered, like boxes inside boxes. Their focal points twisted and turned, never falling in line. It was an elaborate weave of magick, one that would require concentration and focus to break. A focus he would not allow the demon to gain once he entered this room. Saitou smiled grimly. Makimachi apparently was not completely useless.

His eyes narrowed as the air shuddered once more. The lights flickered once and then again before going out. He heard Makimachi shift. He heard her swift intake of breath but it did not distract him from the sound he had been waiting for so long – the sound of a magical entity smoothly pushing past the barriers warding the house. The lights came on again, shining brighter than before.

The demon had arrived.

X

**Author's Note**

Apologies for delaying this chapter so much. The next one should be out sooner. So I am formally and enthusiastically through with the hiatus I had taken from writing fanfiction.

Hope you all like this instalment of Dark Promises!


	9. Confrontation

**Summary**: While healing a wounded stranger, Kaoru unknowingly calls upon her essence to seal the injury, creating a spirit bond. But the amber-eyed demon lord she has just revived is in no mood to be saddled with a mortal female. KK. Dark-ish fic.

**Disclaimer**: Rurouni Kenshin and all its characters, events and places belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro.

**Rating**: T. To be safe, certain chapters will be marked as MATURE

Have I mentioned how much I love reading your reviews? All of you thank you so much!

**Review Replies**

Queen Emily the Diligent – Well, she is his favourite student even though he gets annoyed with her fascination of all things demonic. And Saitou does not like demons.

Nora – I'm glad it's out too. Not writing for a really long time really you of the motivation of continue.

Ayla27 – Wow thanks for the enthusiasm. I hope you like the confrontation.

JeniNeji – Right now, Kaoru needs all the people she can get in her corner. Her world is about to go upside down.

Daichilover – Me? Abandon my stories? That's some other krystalMage you're talking about. Hahaha.

Reignashii – Agni is the guardian spirit of all the races that live in Miramar. He commands loyalty from all sorts of demons. Thus, he is also accountable for law and justice in that realm. Now with Kenshin's spirit bond with Kaoru surfacing he realizes that he has a responsibility towards her as well. Even though Kenshin is bound unknowingly, the fact remains that as a demon the pull Kenshin will have over Kaoru is greater and this puts Kaoru at risk. If Kenshin refuses to honour the bond, then she will die, and with her death, her magical spirit will be lost. That's why he will have to avenge the loss of her spirit. Hope that makes sense.

Thank you Moony, Kimi-chan, J Luc Pitard, manicMundae, and melay!

For aclockworkat, my fantastic beta who seems to have disappeared lately. Here's hoping she surfaces soon. Loves, Amy.

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><p><strong>Dark Promises<strong>

**Chapter 8: Confrontation**

Kenshin glanced at Soujirou and signalled him to be quiet. The house was silent, too silent for anything good to be happening. He softly padded up the stairs. There was no reason to go about destroying Kaoru Kamiya's house by breaking through the walls when there was a perfect way to get to her by normal means. As he placed his foot upon the first step of the curving staircase he'd seen somewhere in his dreams, he froze.

They were not alone.

Kenshin straightened and placed a hand on the wall with deliberate care. There was someone else in the house - someone who had not been there when he had left. He could sense power emanating from the stranger and he had no doubt that when he reached the top of the stairs, he would be faced with a Master Mage of considerable power. He hissed a curse and curled his fingers into a fist.

Behind him, Soujirou whispered, "Sensei, what's wrong?" He shot a nervous glance up the staircase. The house unsettled him. A decade spent in the service of Lord Battousai had not been enough to completely erase his childhood fear and distrust of mortal mages. There were some things that just didn't leave you alone. He had put his revulsion for the human race behind him, but his fear of them, their unpredictability, and their violent brutality had survived somehow.

Kenshin grimaced and shook his head. "We're not alone."

Soujirou frowned and stared at his master. "What?"

Kenshin looked at his student with slow, deliberate eyes. "Soujirou. This is not your fight. Do not interrupt, whatever happens."

Soujirou snapped his eyes back towards his master and frowned. "But, Master!"

Kenshin placed a hand firmly on his shoulder. "Do not. Interrupt."

Repressing an indignant retort on his lips, Soujirou pulled his lips in a tight smile and looked down at his feet. Kenshin turned away and resumed his ascent of the stairs. He was slowly slipping into battle stance, flexing his fingers, loosening his sword in its sheath and rolling his shoulders back and forth once. He turned into the narrow corridor and walked along until he reached a door. If there was any doubt regarding the presence of hostile company, it was dispelled. The entire corridor thrummed with the livid magical pulse of a mortal mage. Soujirou struggled to keep his smile intact. This was bad.

During his childhood spent with Shishio, it had been a casual and indifferent task to kill a mortal. It had not mattered because he had been taught that mortals didn't matter. They were usurpers; thieves of an art they did not understand and did not deserve the gift of. Magic ran in the bloodstream of demons, and for a mortal to presume that it could wield and weave magic was sacrilege and an insult to everything sacred to demons. This had been the foundation of his beliefs; the bricks upon which his world was built. In the civil war that followed and the carnage that it brought about, he was to learn that his foundation and his roots were rotten and untrue. He was devastated when the Lord Battousai had pulled away the delusions fostered by Shishio and shown him that blood did not matter, race did not matter. The only thing that mattered was magic.

Some mortals were blessed with magic, others were not. Simple. Those that were the mage born were to be treated with respect. Simple. Those that did not respect magic whether it was that of a demon or a mage were to be stopped. Simple.

Three simple rules had governed his life since then. But today, faced with the sort of power that strummed through the air of this house, Soujirou felt wary and nervous; the three rules did not cover for this sort of dilemma. They were entering the den of a mage born who undoubtedly felt wronged, and who sought vengeance. This feeling could only be matched with the feeling he'd had when he had first encountered his master. The sheer force of spirit whipping through the air seemed to cut his skin open, and lacerate his magic.

Soujirou bit his lip and watched as Kenshin pushed the door open and stepped into that maelstrom of energy. Sighing, he bent his head and followed.

Soujirou felt his eyes widen as a wall of wild, blue flames rushed forward towards them. But fire was their element, and the possibility of Lord Battousai floundering in the face of a fire attack was laughable. With a sweep of his eyes, Kenshin dispelled the flames to the floor. He lifted his hand and as his fingers curved in the air, the red firestorm following the previous attack unleashed by the mage standing in the centre of the room disappeared. He looked up at the man and noted the rigid set of his jaw and the palpable waves of fury swirling off his body.

Soujirou watched tensely as Kenshin's lips curled into a wry smile. "I was not expecting such an enthusiastic welcome."

"Filth like you rarely do." The man's cold voice belied the rage that oozed from every pore of his being. A black cloak lay discarded at his feet. He held a sheathed blade in his hand and slipped his feet into a fighting stance that was unfamiliar to both demons. He held his katana at chest level, supporting it with his fingers. A dangerous light glimmered in his eyes and he looked like a feral beast let loose from his cage.

Master and apprentice exchanged a glance. Kenshin rested his fingers casually upon the hilt of his sword. "I have no business with you, so I must ask you to step down." He shrugged. "There's no need to fight. We can talk about this."

Saitou threw his head back and laughed. Soujirou felt a chill race down his spine. The man's laughter encompassed a rare combination of anger and desperation. His laughter stopped as suddenly as it had begun. His eyes gleamed wildly and he fixed his furious glare upon them. "I do not possess a foul enough language with which I may curse you, you fiend! Die!" He unsheathed his katana in one fluid movement and charged forward.

Kenshin shoved Soujirou behind him and unsheathed his own sword, cutting an arc across him. He muttered silently under his breath and immediately a silvery- blue shield surrounded him. A huge wall of blistering fire erupted in the room as Saitou began to cast spells of varying power in quick succession. Soujirou watched in morbid fascination as the two masters battled for dominance over a fight that was quickly blowing out of control.

Saitou soon realized that his fire attacks had little to no impact upon the demon. He switched to conjuring piercing winds that he shaped in the form of knives and set them upon the demon. The wind-knives screeched through the air and thudded violently into Kenshin's shield. The shield shook violently under the force of the wind but somehow managed to hold fast. Saitou smiled grimly. He could shatter that shield with one more attack. But before he could act, a tongue of flame wrapped itself around his foot and pulled him down to the floor.

The demon held the fire-whip aloft in his hand and spoke, "It was not my intention to fight. _Stop_ attacking me."

Saitou extinguished the flames with a flick of his wrist and spat, "Oh I will stop, Demon - once you are _dead_. I will gladly stop then." He flexed his fingers. Thin, thread-like webs of silvery light shot out from the air all around him. He twisted and drew his hands back. Then focussing all his energy into the spidery threads quivering around his hands, he shot forward like an arrow and threw that web of light towards Kenshin. Kenshin recognised the spell as a weaker version of he'd suffered from at Shishio's hands earlier. He stumbled back and twisted out of the way before the cloying, silver web wound itself around his spirit-core and drained him.

"Running away?" Saitou smirked disdainfully. "Of course, only a coward would take advantage of a girl." He taunted the demon mercilessly. His anger and fear for Kaoru's life gave fuel to his bitter words and he revelled in the look of utter fury that settled over the demon's features. That was exactly what he wanted – to enrage and distract the demon.

Kenshin trembled with barely suppressed anger. Contrary to his reputation, he was not fond of bloodshed. He had seen enough blood spilt to last several mortal lifetimes. There were better ways of resolving a conflict. Violence was the last resort of the incompetent. And Kenshin was many things, least of all, incompetent. He drew a painfully slow breath and calmed himself. His demonic self was thrashing to let loose and bathe the floor with blood but the wiser, calmer piece of him urged him to keep his cool and try to reason with the mage.

Bracing himself, Saitou launched another spirit-web attack at the demon, following it up with a volley of ice needles stepped in purifying energy. Kenshin pushed Soujirou down onto the floor and vaulted forward to meet the attack head on. He summoned a massive wall of fire and held it directly in front of him. The fire devoured the ice needles and burnt away the purifying essence. He swept through the wall of fire. Calling upon the spirits of his ancestors, he opened a miniature portal and trapped the spirit web inside. Shutting it, he banished it away with a flick of his fingers and advanced upon the mage, who now stood panting in the middle of the room.

Saitou raised his sword and struck out hard. The blade caught on the demon's armguard and he flicked it away as though it were nothing. Saitou growled with displeasure and pulled out another blade from behind his back. He stabbed at the demon's chest and smiled in perverse delight as blood seeped through the wound. The demon hissed. Behind him, Kaoru stirred and whimpered.

X

Misao leaned over the prone form of her friend and softly spoke words of reassurance in her ear.

Kaoru shook her head sluggishly. Her eyes wouldn't open, no matter how hard she tried. They _just_ wouldn't open. And now, a spot deep inside her chest began to ache. It felt as though someone was stabbing her. The pain engulfed her and she would have thrashed about if she had the energy but she didn't. She simply lay still and let her gaze wander through the darkness. A couple of shadowy forms seemed to be circling each other. She could not tell if they were fighting or dancing. She could not say for sure, if she knew them. They seemed familiar. In fact, one made her pulse start and race. She swallowed thickly. The dryness of her tongue seemed to scratch against the roof of her mouth. She needed to sit up and see what was happening. Her body was simply not listening though. She breathed deeply and tried to move her muscles into a sitting position but all she managed to do was quiver. Kaoru cursed her present state of paralysis. She was so tired of the darkness and the pain. She needed to get out. She had to get out. She would not remain prisoner inside someone else's mind. She had things to do, a life to lead. She had to get out! She had to get out! She simply had to get out!

Something was hurting her. The pain seemed to wrap around her body and increase by degrees with every moment that she lay prone and unmoving. Why did she hurt so bad? It felt as though someone had run a sword through her. But that was ridiculous. Mages didn't have swords. Mages didn't need swords. Their magic was protection enough for them. So why was she thinking about swords?

X

Infusing his sword with the electrifying force of his spirit-force, Saitou ripped mercilessly through the demon's shield. He plunged his sword deep into his chest and shoved him against the wall. He twisted the blade inside the demon's flesh and bent his head to whisper viciously.

"Did you think you would get away with it? Did you think she had nobody to fight for her?" The sword quivered under the pressure he placed on it. Saitou's eyes seemed to burn with fury that showed no signs of dissipating even as he impaled the fiend responsible.

Kenshin bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming out loud in pain. Pain engulfed him in giant, swirling waves. He grit his teeth and concentrated on the heat pooling in his fingers. Thin tendrils of flames snaked out of his fingers and slowly, very slowly wound around the mage's arm. The sudden heat surprised the mage and he shook his arm, trying to rid himself of the ropes of flame that were now racing up his arm. Seizing his chance, Kenshin rammed his knee into the mage's stomach. Staggering backward, the mage desperately tried to counter the demonic fire threatening to burn his whole arm. Kenshin landed softly on the floor. Taking a deep breath, he grasped the sword sticking out his chest and pulled it out with a gasp. Sinking to the ground, he placed his hands on the floor and panted desperately. He raised his hand, stopping Soujirou from approaching him. He muttered under his breath and pressed his hand against the gaping wound. The mage growled somewhere in front of him. The demon fire he'd wrapped around his arm was no longer burning. Kenshin rose to his feet shakily only to watch the mage tearing towards him with his katana parallel to the floor. Kenshin slammed his sword forward; the blades crashed against each other and glanced off. The mage swung his sword downwards, almost slicing his neck. Kenshin jumped back and swung his leg, bringing the mage down. But not for long. Blood and battle lust had taken over both of them.

Soujirou watched helplessly as his master's moves became cleaner and sharper, more deadly. He knew that if he continued to fight like this, it would not be long before the deadly Lord Battousai emerged from the cage that Kenshin his master kept him locked away.

Saitou lashed out wildly and cut cross the mage's back, only to find that the demon had dropped to the ground. Kenshin pivoted and came to his feet behind Saitou, pushing the sheath of his katana into his neck even as his other hand brought his blade up and cut a vicious slash across his back. He kicked Saitou hard across the floor. Saitou skidded and slumped against the wall. Kenshin was before him in a matter of seconds, the tip of his katana poised at the hollow of the mage's throat. Across the room, Soujirou burst into a grin. The fight was over and his master had won.

Kenshin kept his eyes fixed upon the mage. His chest heaved as he fought to regain control over his body and his mind. The seductive whisper of his demonic self urged him to plunge the blade into the mage's throat. His fingers clenched tightly over the hilt of his sword and he shuddered. Refusing the Battousai had never been easy, especially not when he'd been compelled to call him out for assistance in a fight. He couldn't believe his ironclad control over his former self had slipped. He was puzzled as to why it had happened now and not earlier when he'd fought Shishio.

Kenshin looked at the mage who glared at him murderously. "I am going to step back now. Will you give me your word not to attack?"

Saitou sneered. "I don't believe in giving my word to a thing that has no honour. It would be an insult to me to do so."

Kenshin pushed back the surge of anger that threatened to engulf him. Keeping his voice steady, he spoke again, "Your words are harsh because you do not understand."

Saitou's eyes flashed. "I understand that my student lies there – lifeless – because you attempted to bind her power to yours."

"No." Kenshin replied firmly. "If Kamiya Kaoru is your student, then you should know, she –"here, he faltered, not knowing how to proceed. He was hesitant to tell this mage that his prized student had willingly risked her life to save him. It is strange how acts of wickedness find ready narrators yet one hesitates before reliving an act of selfless kindness between mortal foes.

Muttering a spell, he bound the mage's hands, and sheathed his katana. Saitou looked at him warily. Kenshin sighed. "You have nothing to fear from me. I owe a life-debt to your student. She saved my life. Unfortunately, in doing so, she has unknowingly bound herself to me." He stepped back as his words roused Saitou to stand and move menacingly towards him. The enraged Master Mage would have gladly wrapped his shackled fingers around the demon's neck and strangulated him had a whimper not escaped from Kaoru's mouth right that instant.

Saitou's brow furrowed and his lips curled into a snarl. But before he could unleash his tempestuous temper, he heard the demon's soft voice, "I am the only one who can help her now. If you do not let me go to her, she will die."

Saitou gnashed his teeth in frustration. Nodding curtly at the demon, he stepped back, knowing there was nothing more he could do for his wayward student.

The delicate murmur of pain pierced Kenshin's mind like a searing brand. He snapped his head towards her and strode purposefully in her direction. He ignored the vociferous protests of the tiny girl seated at Kaoru's bedside. He held her wrist and quietly pulled her away from the bed.

Misao gaped at the demon's nonchalance. She was about to storm back and push him away from Kaoru when a hand snaked around her waist holding her back. She whipped her head around to face the second demon. His soft brown eyes seemed to reassure her before she shoved that thought out of her mind and struggled anew. He grasped her wrist and tightened his hold around her waist, pulling her flush against his warm body.

"Wait." His voice was soft and sweet. Misao stared at him. "Just wait and watch."

Misao grit her teeth. "Let go."

Soujirou looked at her curiously. He didn't know why he'd latched on to the girl like this but he knew he had to keep her away from his master right now. Once the Battousai was unleashed, it was sheer stupidity trying to provoke him. "In a minute. Calm down."

Misao shuddered with anger at being held like a child. "Don't tell me to calm down, Demon! Let go!" Misao pushed her weight against him and shoved. Soujirou held fast and shook his head.

Smirking he glanced at her, "Are mortal females always so feisty?"

Misao sneered. "Let me go and I'll let you find out. How's that?"

Soujirou made a face as though he was considering her words, then shook his head. "No. I like my idea better."

"Look here you – "

"Shhh." Soujirou cut her off. He jerked his head towards his master. Misao looked over to where the demon was seated beside Kaoru, his fingers resting upon her forehead, a look of intense concentration upon his face.

Misao gasped. "No! Stop! No, don't touch her!" She elbowed Soujirou in the gut and freed herself only to be caught once again. This time, Soujirou twisted her arm behind her back.

Misao froze as she felt his breath float across her ear, "Please be still. Your friend's life depends on it. If you try and interrupt again, I will be forced to stop you."

Misao slowly turned her head and looked at the demon holding her. He tilted his head slightly to the right and smiled. "You look almost civil when you're not thrashing about." She glared at him and turned away.

X

Kenshin winced as he observed the physical signs of the distress Kaoru had been through in the past two days. There were small crescent-shaped wounds on the palms of her hands where she had presumably dug her fingernails. Trails of tears long spent were clearly visibly on the pristine skin of her face. She lay curled onto her side now, her head buried under a hand. He sat down beside her and gently lifted her hand away. Placing his fingers upon her forehead, he murmured under his breath, "Wake up, Kaoru."

He felt the familiar feel of her ki brush against his consciousness as he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he found himself standing in grassy meadow, not unlike the grasslands of Southern Miramar, deep in the territory of the shape shifters. He frowned. What was she doing here?

"It's peaceful here. And beautiful." Her voice floated by on the breeze. Kenshin turned around. She lay on the springy grass, watching the clouds float past.

He walked over to her. "What are you doing here?"

She looked at him, sapphire eyes widening in recognition. She sat up slowly. "It's peaceful here."

He snorted. "Peaceful. And empty. You don't belong here."

She shrugged, determinedly turning her back to him. "I like it here."

He shook his hea and grasped her wrist, bringing her to her feet. "We have to leave."

She jerked her wrist away from him and stepped back. "No. I like it here. I think I will stay."

Kenshin stared at her in incredulity. "None of this is real. Do you understand that? This -," he swung his hands about, "- is merely a lost memory. There is nothing and nobody here. This is a cage for your mind Kaoru. You have to get out."

"No, I don't want to."

"You will cease to exist if you do not get out of here. You will become a memory and fade, trapped inside consciousness and dream. We _have_ to go." There was a trace of impatience in his voice as he struggled to understand why she had chosen this spot out of so many from his memories. But that was a story for another day.

"And if I refuse?" She lifted her chin daringly, challenging him to change her mind. Kenshin bit the inside of his cheek. They didn't have time for this. Already, he could sense the weakness of her spirit. She did not have the strength to last here any longer. The devastating turmoil she must have witnessed in his mind would have weakened her already. Staying here any longer would surely kill her. But how could he snap her out of this limbo? He watched her playfully twirl her fingers around the stalk of a buttercup, smiling at the pretty flower. He had to shock her. He had to do something that would pull her out of the complacence that the soul's abyss provided.

He stood directly behind her and leaned forward so that his lips just brushed the curve of her ear. "What do you refuse, Kaoru?" He spoke silkily. Kaoru immediately stiffened, remembering the last time he had used this tone of voice on her. "Do you refuse to be taken out of here? Do you refuse to be rescued? Or do you just refuse the reality of our situation?"

She watched him with undisguised suspicion. "Our situation? What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Can you think of no reason why your memories are interlaced with mine?"

She shook her head. "I – don't know."

He stepped around her, now standing before her, "Would you like to find out?"

She hesitated, suddenly afraid of what he might reveal to her. The longer he stood before her, the more she realized that the colours of her beautiful sanctuary were fading, watering out. He seemed too vivid and stark. The lines of his face sharper and far cleaner cut than anything she had seen so far here in these meadows. Why did he seem the only thing that was real anymore?

Kenshin took another step forward and quickly grasped her fingers. She gasped as he pulled her towards him. "Time to wake up, Kaoru." She pulled a swift breath as the ground fell away under her feet, the light blinded her and the wind seemed to scream in her ears as they began to hurtle past mountains, rivers, seas so fast that all the colours seemed to bleed into each other until looking upon them hurt her eyes. She shut her eyes and buried her face in his neck.

X

Author's Note

Please comment.


	10. Rude Awakenings

**Hello everyone!**

**Well, it's been close to two years since I updated this story. I don't if there's still anybody who cares but I want to explain myself. Sometimes, it so happens that you know where you want a story to go but the writing just doesn't happen or the material simply doesn't measure up to standard. I have been battling with this story for some time and now I think I have finally found my way out. So regular updates again! Yay!**

**I must thank the reviewers and readers who have continued to shower love on this story despite my disappearance from the fandom. My foray into the HP fandom has taken a toll on my RK writing but I'm coming back to it now in a big way. Expect updates on all my RK stories soon. Thank you once again everyone. It means more than you can ever imagine. **

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><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

**Rude Awakenings**

The last thing she remembered was the wind tearing around her as the demon pulled her away from the twilit dream kingdom she'd wandered into. She struggled to catch the fragile threads of meaning in thrumming sound all around her. Little by little, the haze fogging her mind cleared and she opened her eyes. Kaoru recognised the worn stonework of her room's ceiling.

However, even as the thought formed, she knew something was wrong. The mechanical lunar model, once perched on the ceiling, was missing. She cautiously moved her head; somehow she knew turning her head in sudden, jerky movements would hurt. Sweeping her gaze from wall to wall, she found the remains of the model lying in haphazard piles of rubble here and there.

Kaoru blinked. The state of her room was frightening. There were scorch marks on the walls and floor. The glass on her windows was shattered. She assumed a force field covered the house, keeping the icy night winds out. Turning this thought over in her mind, she twisted to find a boy peering down at her and almost jumped out of her skin in fright. A shuddering sigh later, she glanced at him again and warily tried to back away.

The boy, he looked hardly older than her, smiled uncertainly.

Kaoru waited, arching her brow at him meaningfully.

Soujirou spoke, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He watched her curiously. Then, as he realized she felt uncomfortable, he leaned back. "Would you like some water?"

Kaoru nodded weakly.

The boy stood. Gently, he slid his hand under her shoulders and helped her sit up in bed. Gripping her shoulder with one hand, he extended the other and poured a glassful of water. Slowly, he brought the glass to her lips. "Don't drink it all at once."

Kaoru felt her breath hitch as the first drops of water slid into her mouth.

Soujirou tipped the glass back and, gently shook his head as she whined in protest. "Drink slowly."

Kaoru rolled her eyes and ignored his amused chuckle.

He tipped the contents of the glass back into her mouth and this time, he waited until she had drunk her fill.

She slumped backwards.

He placed the glass back on the small table beside her bed.

She watched him silently as he lowered her back down onto the bed.

He moved with fluid grace, slowly and steadily.

She watched _mesmerised_ as he held his hand to her forehead and consulted his pocket-watch.

He smiled. "Well, you don't have a temperature." He pulled his hand away and slipped the watch back into his waistcoat pocket. He blinked as though he remembered something. He rose and looked towards the door. "I'll let Sensei know you are awake."

Sensei? Kaoru furrowed her brow in confusion and blinked as the boy disappeared into thin air. She gawked at the place he'd been standing just seconds before. How had he done it? She'd never seen anyone move so fast. Even the strongest mages she'd read about burned tremendous spirit power to achieve teleportation. How did he bear the pressure? What manner of device did he use to augment his power, enabling him to rent asunder the fabric of the planes to vanish into thin air? She turned on her side and pushed herself up slowly.

Propping herself on her elbow, she looked around. Her mouth fell open and her eyes opened wide as she took in the appearance of the room. It looked as though a battle had raged in there. Books were blasted through, broken glass lay strewn about the floor, completely destroyed furniture, not to mention the scorch marks of mage fire blackening her walls – Kaoru stared at it aghast.

"Kaoru!" Misao appeared in the doorway and rushed to her side. She lifted her arms as if to embrace her but stopped. Smiling nervously, she lowered her hands and sat down on the chair previously occupied by the brown haired boy. She looked worn out. Her eyes were bloodshot and a gloomy shadow flooded her face. She fidgeted restlessly.

Kaoru felt puzzled. She had never seen Misao look so tired. Her skin seemed to be stretched taut around her jaw and her knuckles. She didn't relax, not once. Silence stretched uncomfortably in the room.

Misao did not speak. She seemed to be waiting for Kaoru to say something, anything – to relieve the tension in the room.

"Do you remember anything Kaoru?" Misao asked.

Kaoru almost didn't hear her. There was something beyond her room that throbbed with power. She held her hand up, effectively prolonging the awkward silence in the room. "Do you feel that Misao?"

Misao's eyes widened, her gaze darted from Kaoru's face to the door. A cold, ominous feeling settled in her stomach and she watched helplessly as Kaoru struggled to sit up, her eyes glazed and unseeing while she searched for the intangible something pulling upon her senses, demanding she answer.

The door creaked open.

X

Kenshin dragged his gaze from the scorched floor and walls to the wreckage of the mechanical lunar model and finally, when he couldn't avoid it any longer, to the owner of the wide cobalt eyes who stared back at him in bewilderment.

Kaoru felt her breath escape as she watched the demon take slow, deliberate steps towards her. He carefully stepped over the ashes of the tomes unfortunate enough to have been caught in the crossfire. Much like his student, he perused her face with care.

When he raised his hand to brush his fingers across her forehead however, Kaoru scuttled back on the bed until her back hit the wall. She regarded him warily.

Kenshin couldn't help the smirk that stretched across his lips. So, she finally knew enough to be wary of him. He bit his lip to stop the chuckle from bursting forth. He had only just managed to calm her master down.

The last thing he needed was to irk Saitou. The slightest incongruence in his meticulously planned world seemed to set him off. He was so volatile.

Well, he thought wryly, now he knew where _she_ got it from.

"What," She bit her lip and blinked. Shaking her head slightly, she looked up at him directly. "_When_ did you get here?"

Ignoring the comical way the other mortal's jaw fell at the question, Kenshin stepped forward and sank beside her on the bed.

Kaoru watched the movement of his limbs as he settled comfortably beside her, staring into her eyes. Her legs froze and her shoulders followed soon after.

He raised a hand to her face. Pain exploded somewhere behind her eyelids as she followed his elegant fingers with her eyes. He brushed his fingers against her cheek. "Just in time."

Her breath shuddered as she let go. The tension coiling her muscles seeped away and she shivered. "I was so scared." The momentary shiver down her spine turned into an uncontrollable trembling that shook her body.

He watched her gravely for a moment before snapping his head to the side and glancing at Misao in passing. "I must speak to Kaoru alone. Leave." He pursed his lips together and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling when the petite girl crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him crossly. "Now!"

Soujirou wasted no time. He wrapped an arm around Misao and lifted her out of the room, despite her vociferous protests. He kicked the door shut behind him as he left.

Kenshin turned his fingers against her cheek.

"You have been very foolish Kaoru." He pressed the pad of his thumb against her lips as she roused herself to argue. "You could have died in there."

She tore at her bottom lip. "Well, I didn't know what to do." She glanced up at him challengingly, refusing to cower in the face of the devastation surrounding her. Devastation, she was certain, he was responsible for. She felt warmth course through her body as righteous indignation flooded her veins with vigour. However, her heart sank at the sight of him watching her coolly and her newfound belligerence fizzled away into nothingness. "I just wanted to be alone for some time, just to think things through."

"How could you mistake a barren abyss for a sanctuary?" He asked quietly, jaw tightening in response.

Kaoru shrank away and hugged her knees tightly. "I didn't know what to think. You…_pushed me away_. I felt awful." She stopped and glanced at him tentatively.

He stared back at her steadily, eyes flitting from her eyes to her lips and back again. "I am sorry." He heaved a sigh and stood. Clenching his fingers together, he said softly, "I made a mistake Kaoru and now you may have to pay the price for it."

Kaoru frowned. "What do you mean?"

Kenshin kneeled before her. He slid his fingers around her hand and squeezed gently. "A lot of things happened while you were sleeping."

Kaoru leaned towards him. "What do you mean?"

A smile tugged at his lips. "You healed me at grave risk to yourself."

Cold dread sunk into her chest and Kaoru instinctively glanced towards the window fearfully.

Kenshin watched her swallow slowly. "They know."

Kaoru looked at him with wide eyes. "No…"

Kenshin nodded slowly. "I wish I could tell you otherwise. The mages are out hunting for you. Even now, the only thing that keeps them from storming this house is my magic."

Kaoru shook her head. She pulled her hands free and leaned away from him. "No, it can't be. No. I need to speak to Master Saitou." Her legs shook as she tried to stand. "It's all a misunderstanding. Master Saitou will know what to do. Everything will be alright, you'll see." She had worked too hard to lose everything now.

Kenshin watched her talk herself into thinking that everything was really going to return to the way it had been.

Kaoru grabbed onto the back of the chair to steady herself.

"What are you doing?" Kenshin asked calmly.

Kaoru stopped. She turned to look at him. "I'm going to talk to Master Saitou. He will know what to do."

Kenshin sighed. "You want to go to him like this?"

Kaoru nodded vigorously. "There's no time to lose."

"Then I will take you."

"You can't!" Kaoru exclaimed. Blushing at her abruptness, she shrugged. "Master Saitou hates demons. He'll kill you if he sees you. No, it's best if you stay here and I will go talk to him."

Kenshin stared at her coldly. "And just how do you propose to do so? You can barely walk."

Kaoru refused to back down. "You don't understand."

He merely raised an eyebrow, looking extremely unconvinced. "Oh?"

Kaoru drew herself straight. "Yes, _my lord_ it may come as a shock to you but you don't know everything." She responded dryly.

Kenshin stared at her for a moment and wondered if it would not have been better to let Saitou handle this. "I have already met your Master."

Kaoru froze and turned slowly. She looked from him to the wreckage of the room. Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she hissed, "_You _did this."

He held his hands up in a placating gesture. "With a little help from your Master."

Kaoru looked around in disbelief. "You ruined it. I do not believe this." She clenched her fists together. "Do you have any idea how long it will take to repair? And what have you done to it; my house feels…" She trailed off. _Unfamiliar. _She didn't know how to describe how strange it felt. It was her house, no doubt about it, but it just didn't feel the same any more. She turned slowly in a circle.

"I don't understand."

Her eyes narrowed as she thought of something. She turned to the demon once more. "Wait, where is Master Saitou, and how did he just let you go? I know him. He would never…" The tiny hairs on the back of her neck rose as she felt a shiver race down her spine. Perhaps, she'd been asleep longer than she'd imagined. To forget who the creature standing before her was, she'd have to have been truly incapacitated. Kaoru held no delusions of what the demon was capable of. The short glimpse of his former life had lent her enough knowledge to realize she should be wary of him. The deadly stillness he carried around his frame was proof enough for anyone who knew what to look for. She looked at him fearfully. "You didn't hurt him?"

Kenshin glowered at her. "Your faith in me is heartening."

Kaoru bristled. "Oh no. Don't you dare try to act hurt over it. You abandoned me when I needed you! Why would I have any faith in you?"

"Interesting. Not what you said earlier." He replied with a smirk.

She felt her breath thud out of her lungs as he recalled her foolish insistence on helping him before. "Did you come back to rub my folly in my face?"

His eyes locked on hers as the smirk vanished and for an instant, she saw true remorse on his features. "No."

She lifted her chin imperiously. "Then why are you here?"

"Kaoru," He sighed. "You are no longer safe here."

"Master Saitou will speak to them." She turned and began to cross the room in steady steps.

"There is no time."

"Of course there is. He can convince them. I know he can."

"He's injured Kaoru!" He bit his lip as he watched her freeze in the doorframe. "You were right. He hates demons. He was furious. I tried to tell him I wanted to help you but, he wouldn't listen. I had no choice but to fight him."

"You hurt him."

"He'll recover."

"How could you?" She whispered.

"I am sorry."

"This means…"

"You are no longer safe here, Kaoru."

X

Author's Note

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